Fatal Frame VII: Cries of the Children
by The History Queen
Summary: Four years after the events at Watanabe Shrine, Sumiko Yamada is now an art student studying in Tokyo. While on a camping trip with friends, Sumiko discovers the Okamoto Orphanage, which had burned down over six decades ago, killing everyone within except for one child. Drawn in by a ghostly cry for help, Sumiko once again begins another journey into darkness and horror.
1. Prologue: A Late Night Visitor

**_Hello everyone! Here is the official sequel to Fatal Frame VI: Vengeance! I have other projects going on but I didn't want my fans to wait anymore. Although, because of school, I will be busy but I will do my best to post chapters whenever I can. Without further adieu, here is the prologue. Enjoy! :)_**

* * *

 _July 31, 1949_

 _Hibiki-mura, a village a couple of miles outside of Tokyo_

Crickets filled the night air with their summer chorus. Fireflies lit up the shadows under the trees and above the waters surface of the local lake, giving the area the endearing appearance of a peaceful and quaint countryside. Despite the chaos and despair that lingered four years after the country's surrender in World War II, the people here managed to do their best to rebuild their lives. But the way there was filled with great hardship and heartbreak. A fractured post-war economy made the Japanese yen next to worthless, food and fuel were hard to come by and countless civilians were unable to find work.

The glorious days of the divine God Emperor were gone forever now. Emperor Hirohito was no longer to be worshipped as the direct descendent of the great sun goddess Amaterasu, he was now to be seen as a down to earth, flesh and blood man. The great cities of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, along with many others, were in the process of rebuilding, trying desperately to hide the scorched remnants and scars of the fire bombings caused by the American Air Force. But those were nothing compared to the awesome and bone chilling power of the two atomic bombs, "Little Boy" and "Fat Man…" Never before had such powerful weapons have been used and hopefully, for the sake of humanity, never, ever again.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were obliterated; concrete structures were turned to dust, fires consumed older city districts, the morning sky turned to night from the ash and smoke, the smell of burning flesh became ingrained into the nostrils of shell-shocked survivors and the cries of agony and despair echoed down the devastated streets… The blasts had been so powerful, that the patterns of kimonos were scorched onto the flesh of the garments' wearer and the shadows of the less unfortunate who had been incinerated into nothingness were forever imprinted onto the walls and pavement of where they last stood or performed their final moments. As if to rub more salt into the open and seething wounds of Japan, the country surrendered to the Americans on September 2, 1945. It was all over. Everything that the great Imperial Japanese Army had done up to that point had been for nothing, every glorious sacrifice made by the patriotic young men of Japan had been meaningless in the end…

After the treaty was signed on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the American Army occupied Japan, and the world set about on rebuilding itself from the ashes of the Second World War. The United States and the Soviet Union were now the kings of the world and they did not hesitate to show it, especially the Americans. American Army bases were set up around Tokyo and in Okinawa. The American presence was seen and felt, even in little Hibiki-mura. GI's from the army bases in Tokyo would come with their girlfriends and "geisha girls" ***** to visit Kappa Lake to boat, fish and swim.

They would party, drink alcohol and dance with a curious and rambunctious choreography the likes the native Japanese had had never seen before. Most of the servicemen were obnoxious and they brought disrupted the natural tranquility of the area with their inconsiderate partying. However, the inhabitants of Hibiki-mura had to swallow their pride and cater to these men and their selfish behavior since they needed the money that they brought in. Besides, not all of the servicemen were self-serving drunkards with a grand sense of entitlement. Some were very respectful, especially the three Army nurses who came to work at the Okamoto Orphanage on the hill across from town and the lake.

All three were described as being wonderful women even though one of them was quite standoffish and reserved. They were wonderful with the children who lived in the orphanage and the sight of seeing the nurses, the orphanage matron and her niece leading a small army of children down from the hill towards the lake for a summer day of fun was a heartwarming sight. But this night, everything changed… It was a night that nobody in Hibiki-mura would ever forget. Especially for one miko and child…

That night, in front of the town shrine, the Hibiki-Tsukuyomi Shrine, a lone priestess was standing in front of the collection box. Despite it being in the midst of summer, a cool breeze from the lake flowing up the hill towards the shrine made the air feel as if it were early spring weather instead. Rubbing her shoulders, which were draped with a simple haori (kimono jacket), the priestess began to question why she was even at the shrine so late at night. Almost a half-hour ago, she was sound asleep in her bed in a small house close to the shrine. Her mind had become plagued by an incredibly eerie and realistic dream.

In it, a woman with her form mostly covered in shadow, appeared before her. Despite the darkness, the priestess saw that the woman was dressed in the ceremonial robes of a miko. She kept begging her fellow priestess to head to the shrine and that something had "failed again." She also kept saying that "somebody would be there." So far, the miko did not see anyone else arrive at the shrine.

All she could hear were the crickets and an occasional hoot from an owl. Despite the fact that her prophetic dream was apparently starting to turn out to be just that, a dream, the longer she waited, the miko nonetheless decided to stay longer. She could not ignore the context of that vision. It was too precise to be a figment of her sleeping imagination. A lake breeze blew gently upwards and the miko hugged herself to keep warm.

The sounds of forest shrubbery being trampled and pushed aside suddenly filled the night air. The miko turned to her left and she saw movement coming from the path in the forest that led up to the orphanage farther up the hill. A young girl then came bounding out of the woods. The minute the child saw the priestess, she began to cry out to her.

"Help! Please help me!"

The girl ran right into the arms of the priestess. The surprised woman looked over the young girl. She looked to be around eight or ten years old, she was wearing a white kimono that was stained with soot and the scent of smoke permeated the girl's being. Heat also wafted off of her body and sweat covered her skin. The young girl also had red, swollen eyes that were still leaking tears and she looked absolutely terrified and distraught.

"What happened?! What happened?!" the priestess asked, doing her best to comfort he girl.

She must have been one of the girls from the orphanage. The child stammered but she did manage to make her point across.

"The orphanage… it's on fire! My friends… the adults…"

The girl muttered a name that the miko could not hear. The priestess became frozen into place. With eyes widened with shock and alarm, she looked up towards the hill. Despite the thick summer foliage, the priestess could see a flickering orange mass of light at the top of the hill. Looking up into the sky, she could also clearly see a thick, black column of smoke rising up into the air.

"By the gods!"

Grabbing the kerosene lamp that she had brought with her during her trip to the shrine from the edge of the collection box, the miko then took the hand of the young girl and together they ran down to the village to get help.

"Come with me! Watch your step!" The priestess warned the young girl as they ran down the stairs that led to the shrine.

Since the town was mostly asleep at this time of night, the priestess went up to the fire-tower to awaken them. Climbing up the ladder, she grabbed the hammer beneath the old brass bell and she struck it twice as hard as she could, the two strikes ****** representing that a fire was near the town.

"Fire! Fire! There's a fire at the Okamoto Orphanage!" the priestess cried out.

Quickly the village was awakened by the sound and alarm. Soon the firefighters and volunteers were assembled and a fire truck drove up the winding driveway that led up to the orphanage and the firefighters began their efforts to put out the blaze. The inferno was fierce. Pulsing clouds of fire flowed out of the open windows as smoke poured out from the eaves and the burning roof of the orphanage. The aura of heat that surrounded the structure was so intense that the firefighters had to move the fire truck away from the building because the metal became too hot to touch.

Crowds of villagers waited anxiously down below praying for the salvation of the poor children and their caretakers who were still trapped inside their fiery prison. A few adventurous souls traveled up the hill to watch the firefighters combat the blaze. The priestess kept the poor girl close to her side as they listened to updates spread by a villager who shouted down what he was seeing during the debacle. When the call for more water was spread, some villagers instantly rounded up some long hoses and a water pump to get water from the lake. The combined efforts were still not enough and the fire continued to rage.

As one firefighter looked up into the hellish inferno, something caught his sweat and heat irritated eyes. In the raging blaze, the young man discerned what appeared to be a shadowy figure standing in front of a window on the second floor of the orphanage. Judging by the height and shape the figure appeared to be a woman and she just stood there looking out on the firefighters and volunteers as they did their best to calm the fire. The figure then slowly turned away and walked off from the window. The young man blinked and suddenly a high-pressure fire hose shot a powerful stream of water into the window, shattering the glass.

As the fight continued, the priestess and the young girl from the now burning orphanage waited down the hill for any possible news. The priestess kept her hands wrapped around the young girl, making her feel safe and secure. Despite this, the priestess could feel the girl shivering beneath her hands. Cold tears fell from the young girl's eyes but she could barely felt them. What she had seen within the burning orphanage… What had happened within those halls…

The images would not leave her head.

And they never would.

Even as some concerned villagers walked up to the girl and asked her if she saw anyone else escape from the fire, she would not answer. Terror had frozen her lips together; her gaze was pointed straight at the apex of the hill that now looked like the smoldering top of a volcano. The fight against the flames would continue for hours more until 6:30 in the morning. After waiting a little for the structure to cool, firefighters began their investigation and search for the bodies of any unfortunate soul who could not escape the blaze. They soon came upon a tragic reality.

No one else but the young girl had managed to escape.

There had been twenty-five people living in the orphanage at the time of the blaze, twenty of them being children. The ages of the children ranged from the oldest being twelve and the youngest being five. All nineteen of the remaining kids were still in their rooms, the doors were for some mysterious reason were locked and the firefighters had to kick them down. The children were all found to be huddled in the far corners of their rooms holding each other… The smoke and heat had claimed them.

The adults, all of them women and ages ranging from twenty-three to sixty-one. Three of them were the nurses from the United States Army who were there to help the matron, Sachiko Okamoto and her niece, Hiromi to take care of the orphans and to help foster amicable US and Japanese ties within the next generation. The nurses and the matron's niece were, somewhat unfortunately, not claimed by smoke inhalation. Their bodies were found scattered about the hallways of the orphanage, charred and some were barely recognizable. Undoubtedly, they were trying to save the children or find a way to combat the blaze.

Or so the authorities thought...

It was a terribly heartbreaking sight to see the bodies taken out in blanket covered stretchers, especially the children. Those poor orphans had already lost so much during the war and now, four years after its end, they lost their lives before they even had the chance to start anew. The people of Hibiki-mura found solace in the belief that the youngsters had been reunited with their families in the afterlife. However, they couldn't imagine the anguish the sole surviving child was going through though. She had been staying with the priestess at her cottage for the time being until a solution to her predicament could be found.

Nobody in the village could adopt her for financial reasons but they wanted to help her find a good home. The local newspaper published the story about the fire and young girl and a week later, a well-off family from Tokyo responded to the story expressing an interest in adopting the child. This news made the townspeople happy that the young girl was going have a family again and was going to leave the town where her recent trauma had taken place. After she was sent off with her new family, the people then began the process of trying to move on themselves from the tragedy. The priestess and the shrine kannushi began an appeasement ritual to try and soothe the souls of the dead children and nurses, hoping that they would be able to move on.

To the sound of the priestess ringing bells, the kannushi chanted and the townspeople that were present began to pray. A warm, sweet fragrance floated from an incense burner located on a small makeshift altar before the charred remains of the orphanage. As the miko continued the rhythmic ringing of the bells, a strange feeling came over her. It felt as if someone was staring at her. The priestess looked out into the crowd.

Most of the people had their heads bowed, their foreheads almost touching their extended fingertips as they prayed. Everyone else was watching the ceremony. The sensation of being stared at wasn't coming from the crowd. Now very curious, the miko turned her head up slowly to look at the second floor of the orphanage. A chill ran down her spine.

Standing in front of one of the soot stained windows was, what appeared to a child. From what the priestess could glean from the few clear spaces on the stained glass, it was a young child wearing a purple kimono and had paper white skin. Eerily enough, the miko thought she recognized the kimono. During Shinto festivals, Sachiko Okamoto would bring the children to the shrine to pray and celebrate and the miko could recall only one girl wearing a purple kimono.

But that was impossible.

That girl died in the fire just last week…

How could she be at the window right now?

A pale left hand touched the blackened windowpane and another chill crawled up the priestess's spine.

"Where did she go…?"

The faint, childlike voice carried over to the miko's ears. The suddenness of it all caused the priestess to drop her bell stick. The kannushi stopped chanting and he looked over at the miko with concern, as did the gathered townspeople. Feeling the eyes of everyone being cast upon her, the miko immediately picked up the bells and began to shake them again. The ritual recommenced as if nothing had happened.

As she continued ringing the bells, the priestess looked up towards the window again. The girl was gone.

However…

A small clear handprint was left on the soot stained glass pane.

After the ceremony was completed and everyone went back home, the girl reappeared at the window and watched the miko as she left for the shrine. The miko turned to look back at the orphanage but she could not see the ghost girl that was watching her intently. After the priestess had left, tears fell from the eyes of the poor purple clad girl. She looked out the window, both hands this time on the charred glass.

"She left me to burn…" she softly aloud to herself.

As the priestess made her way down the path following the kannushi who was carrying the makeshift altar; two helpful villagers carried the offertory boxes while the miko carried the incense burner, a bloodcurdling howl of anguish reached her ears. The scream was of an otherworldly nature and it caused goose bumps and chills to break out all over the priestess's body. Deeply alarmed, the miko swiftly turned around and ran back up to the orphanage. She looked into the windows once again, only to find nothing there. A cold aura had seemingly fallen over the orphanage and the miko shivered in the suddenly cold mid-afternoon summer air.

Everything was eerily quiet, no birds were singing, not even the sound a dead branch falling off a tree could be heard from the surrounding woods. Spooked even more now, the miko ran from the orphanage. When she finally reached the foot of the hill, everything came back to normal. The sounds of the village at work and the people going about their daily business comforted the miko. However, this also disturbed her as well.

"Is everything alright?" the kannushi asked her.

The miko saw that the kannushi and the two villagers were looking at her with concern. None of them had heard that scream. Not knowing what do, the woman told them that she thought that she had forgotten something important and ran back up to see if she did. The group accepted this answer and they began to walk back to the Hibiki-Tsukuyomi Shrine, the miko casting anxious glances towards the top of the hill as she followed them. To the villagers, the ceremony was a success but the miko knew better. Whatever had happened in the orphanage that night was still there… And it was now waiting, watching and hoping for someone to come into the orphanage.

So they could see nightmare that was now unfolding…

* * *

 _ **So what do you guys think? Creepy? Ominous? This story will bring to light the aftermath of World War II and how it has affected Japan in both the past and future. So this will be both a sad, horror and mystery story. Thank you for reading and please review! :)  
**_

 _ ***= A nickname for prostitutes in Japan given to them by American soldiers. That moniker also gave the misinterpretation to other Americans that actual geishas were also prostitutes themselves.  
**_

 _ ****= Learned this from a special website called "Dezomeshiki: Firefighting Japanese Style" when I was editing this. One ring meant that a fire was in the distance, two meant one was within the vicinity of the town/village and this allowed the firefighters and volunteers to group up and prepare and multiple rings meant that there was a fire in the town itself. Its a very interesting site.**_


	2. Chapter 1: Summer Vacation

**_Hello everyone! Here is the first chapter of Cries of the Children. For those who have read, Fatal Frame VI: Vengeance, Sumiko has returned! Some new characters are going to be introduced as well. For those who have not read "Vengeance" yet, some of the characters that are going to be mentioned are from that story and their will be some spoilers so read at your discretion. Anywho... Enjoy! :)_**

 **Author's Note:** **Profanity and spoilers ahead! You have been warned.  
**

* * *

 _July 20, 2015_

 _66 years later…_

 ***** Princess _Fusako Memorial Train Station, Tokyo_

The summer sun beat down upon the city of Tokyo. Watery veils of steam emanated off of the metal and glass of the cars and buildings, sweat dampened the clothes of civilians and many people were making visits to pools and vending machines for bottled water or a cold can of soda. Sumiko Yamada had the same idea in mind when she went over to a convenience store across the street from the Princess Fusako Memorial train station. She had been waiting for her friend Amaya Taniguchi and her boyfriend, an American soldier named Anthony Harris to arrive so that they could go on a camping trip in the countryside together. She had arrived early and had decided to get something to drink while she waited.

Walking across the sun baked asphalt and concrete began to slowly burn through the soles of Sumiko's flip flops as she walked towards the store and was grateful for air conditioning when she felt the cold blast hit her as she walked in. Her hair, which she allowed to grow long down her back until it reached the top of her waist, had absorbed a lot of the heat and it felt as if she had a hot blanket on her head. Even her rough-cut blue jean capris began to feel like a bad idea since they heated up her legs easily. Her black spaghetti strap sleeveless shirt was the one clothing choice she found to have been the most effective for the summer weather so far. Her skin had become slightly bronzed from being in the sun during the hot July week.

After getting a bottle of soda from the beverage aisle, Sumiko went up to the checkout counter. Intrigued by a package of pineapple flavored bubble-gum lying on a small metal rack filled with candy, breath mints and other gums, Sumiko picked it up and placed it next to her drink. As she did so, she noticed a brochure by the cash register. It advertised a tourist destination in a town located in Fukushima prefecture, where her and her boyfriend Shuu's hometown of Shizuhara was located. The town was called Mibuzaki and the place that was being advertised was Watanabe Shrine. The name caused Sumiko to stiffen up considerably.

Watanabe Shrine was a place of terrifying memories for Sumiko. Four years earlier, she went there to investigate the mystery behind the Watanabe Three, a local story about the mysterious disappearance of three teenagers that had ventured into the shrine in the early spring of 1984. The reason why the mystery interested Sumiko so much was that her mother, Megumi Yamada aka Rina Oshiro, was the younger sister of the sole female member of the Watanabe Three, Ayumi Oshiro. Rina had witnessed the death of her sister and had managed to escape her killer, a ghost who went by the name of the "Skinless Man." The incident deeply traumatized Rina and the deaths of her sister their boyfriends haunted her from then on.

Sumiko wasn't the only who had decided to go visit the shrine. A man named Akio Toshimoto had inadvertently joined her during their time at Watanabe. He had come because he wanted to solve another disappearance that had occurred over seventy years before the Watanabe Three went missing in 1907. The disappearance involved a folklorist named Hideki Asou and he was the great-grandfather of Akio's late colleague Dr. Ikue Asou and was also the nephew of the famed folklorist Kunihiko Asou. She wasn't able to solve it and Akio felt obligated to take up the burden after she died from lung cancer.

Later on, Sumiko's boyfriend Shuu Amakura came to the Watanabe Shrine because he was concerned about her well-being. The trio's journey into the shrine nearly cost them their lives on several occasions during their nights in the "Shrine of Death." Besides the Skinless Man, other foul and perturbed spirits lurked in the shadows of the hallways, corrupted by an evil force called the Pestilence. Yuuta Matsushita, the Soldier ghost that attacked her in the Buddhist Temple, the Kimura Sisters; Chiyoko and Ryou, and the Watanabe siblings, Hideo and Masami; Hideo being the scariest in Sumiko's opinion. He was the Malice Seer of the shrine's last Ceremony of Cleansing of 1855.

He was tasked with finding new sacrifices known as Aku-seijou for the shrine's gruesome and bloody Flaying Ritual. But in order for him to able to do that, he had to be blinded by having his eyes put out with a burning coal. The red-hot implement from the fire that cremated past Aku-seijou was used so that their energy could be embedded into the sixth sense of the Malice Seer's eyes. She could still remember him chasing her through the pitch black cavern beneath the Buddhist Temple.

"You cannot escape…"

His voice would echo in Sumiko's ears during her worst nightmares. Even after the Vengeance was stopped and the ghosts of the shrine were purified, Sumiko was plagued with recurring night terrors. She learned later on that both Shuu and Akio were suffering from the same things. Sharing this information made her feel better and the three communicated and worked together on trying to block the nightmares out of their minds. It did work and steadily over time, they did go away but not completely.

The nightmares would appear randomly in their sleep, or were prompted by noises that were similar to the one's that the ghosts made. Buzzing flies always brought Sumiko back to the encounter with Hideo, the flies being attracted to the rotting flesh of his destroyed eyes. Thankfully, the nightmares hadn't plagued Sumiko and her friends lately and they were able to get on with their lives. Sumiko and Shuu graduated from high school and went on to attend college, although separately at different ones. Sumiko attended the ****** Kitagawa Utamaru Art Institute in Tokyo to study graphic design while Shuu went to a university in Fukushima to study photography.

Despite their now long-distance relationship, the two managed to make it work. They communicated frequently through face-cams on their phones or computers, text messages and emails. Besides keeping up with Shuu, Sumiko was also in contact with Akio Toshimoto. He had been doing well over the last four years. He was still teaching mythology at Kashiwagi University, a job he found to be very rewarding.

He also had an adorable four year old daughter named Noriko who was born two months after the events at Watanabe Shrine. A few months ago, Akio announced that he and his wife Tomomi were expecting their second child. Yesterday, the couple discovered that they were going to have a son and they were planning on naming him Hitoshi. Sumiko and Shuu felt very happy for the Toshimoto family.

"That will be 121 yen mam."

The cashier's bored voice startled Sumiko out of her nostalgia. The young man was looking at her and she quickly brought out her wallet and paid for her drink and gum with cash. As she waited at the sidewalk for the pedestrian light to come on, Sumiko heard a noise. It was a catcall. Sumiko turned to see three teenage boys leering at her and snickering. Their ringleader was a young man with what appeared to be hair dyed an auburn color. He looked at Sumiko like when a child sees something that he or she really wanted.

"Hey pretty lady! You have a nice ass! You know that right?"

As he and his cohorts sniggered, Sumiko just gave them a blank and apathetic look. She was getting irritated from waiting for the light to change, from standing in the heat and being harassed by a bunch of teenaged idiots. She wasn't going to take it and Sumiko was known for speaking her mind.

"Why don't you three go fuck yourselves? You obviously have chemistry with each other."

The boys sniggering slowed down into silence and confused glares. The crosswalk light changed and Sumiko walked away feeling proud of herself. However just as she reached the opposite sidewalk, a voice called after her.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?"

It was the auburn haired man. He had followed her. He looked angry and his friends watched from their perch by the convenience store.

"Hm?" Sumiko gave him a bored look.

"I was just complimenting you and you acted like a total bitch and insulted us."

"Well you insulted me first pal."

"No I didn't! Why are you women so sensitive? You should be goddamned grateful when a man pays attention to a woman's appearance."

Sumiko made an angry chuckle. This idiot was beginning to push her buttons.

"Grateful?! Are you fucking serious right now? Real men don't make lewd comments about women, especially about their rears. You and your cronies aren't real men and never will be if continue to treat women like that. Now if you excuse me, I have a train to catch…"

As Sumiko turned around to walk up the steps leading to the train station, the young man grabbed her arm with a hard grip.

"Don't you walk away from me you bitch…"

Before Sumiko could send a sucker punch into the man's face. An imposing voice in somewhat shaky Japanese caused the two to freeze. Turning to look, they saw an imposing Western man in a hunter green muscle shirt, desert camo pants and hat and combat boots. He was carrying a large duffel bag over his shoulder and his dog tags rattled when he put the bag down and marched over towards the auburn haired man. The young man turned pale and he let go of Sumiko.

He began to back away when the soldier's imposing 6'1 height towered over his scrawny form.

"Is there a problem?" The soldier said in gruff voice.

"No.. no… not at all…" The auburn man stammered. The soldier's hand then grabbed the auburn man's shoulder hard and he winced from the pain. The auburn man's cronies watched with alarmed eyes from the distance but they didn't come over to help their leader. The soldier got his face really close to the auburn man's; his piercing grey eyes were staring directly into the eyes of the cowardly bully.

"If I ever see you harassing and physically assaulting another woman again, I promise you that I will break every bone in your body until they are all dust. You got it?"

The auburn man nodded fearfully. The soldier than roughly swung the bully away from him and he took off running back to his friends, almost getting hit by a car along the way after the light changed again. The soldier turned to face Sumiko. Reading his dog tags, Sumiko instantly recognized who he was. It was Private Anthony Harris, Amaya's American boyfriend.

Amaya went to a medical school near the art institute where she was studying to become an oncologist and she met Sumiko in a coffee shop that catered to both campuses. The two became fast friends due to their shared love of art, horror films and the same music bands. She was just like Sumiko's best friend from Shizuhara, Minako Kobayashi. Amaya looked cute in her frilly sand colored top, rolled up bluejeans and black and brown sandals. She was smaller in stature than both Anthony and Sumiko as well.

Speaking of which, Amaya was walking down towards the group with her bags as well.

"Are you alright Sumiko? That creep didn't hurt you did he?" she asked concerned.

"No I'm fine," she turned to look at Anthony, "and you must be Anthony. Nice to meet you."

Sumiko bowed respectfully towards the soldier and he to her. Amaya had shown her pictures of him and Sumiko knew he was pretty tall to begin with since he was a Westerner, however he looked even bigger in person.

"Nice to meet you too Sumiko."

He then held out his hand to her.

"I know that this may sound stupid but have you ever shaken hands?"

Sumiko realized he was trying to facilitate their greeting in a traditional Western way and she held out her hand to clasp his. It was like a cat paw trying shake a bear's.

"Thanks for scaring him off." Sumiko said as she shook Anthony's hand.

"No problem. If anyone gives you trouble again, just let me know and I will take care them for you."

"Thanks." Sumiko said.

Amaya straightened her pink headband and she held Anthony's right hand.

"Andy is my protector as well as my boyfriend. One look at him and anyone who tries to mess with me ends up running away in fright!"

Anthony smirked cutely and he increased the grip on Amaya's hand.

"And Maya Baby here is my guardian angel." He then put his arm around her shoulder. "Whenever I am having a tough time during training or getting frustrated, I think about her and I suddenly feel better."

"Aww, why thank you Andy Bear…" Amaya said and she patted him on his muscular chest. Sumiko smirked at the cute scene. However, she had one question herself.

"Just curious though Anthony, what is a guardian angel?"

"It's an angel that looks out for you during times of need. What is the Japanese equivalent for that?"

Sumiko gripped her chin with her ******* right index finger and thumb with a thoughtful look. After a moment, she finally answered.

"I am not sure exactly. There are the kami; the nature spirits worshipped in Shintoism and bodhisattvas for Buddhists. Some people also believe that the souls of their ancestors watch over them. I guess those could count as being what you would call guardian angels."

Anthony nodded in response to the answer.

"I see, just curious though but what is a bodhisattva?"

"A Buddhist saint of sorts, somebody who made it to Nirvana I believe."

After Sumiko finished her sentence, Amaya looked at her phone.

"The train is going to be arriving soon. We should go get our tickets now."

"Agreed, lets go." Sumiko said.

The trio collected their bags and they headed up the white concrete stairs leading up to the station.

* * *

 _ **Serves that little bastard right! So what do you guys think of Amaya and Anthony? Thank you for reading and please review! :)  
**_

 _ ***= Princess Fusako was one of the daughters of Emperor Meiji (namesake of the Meiji Era of 1868 to 1912 when he died). From what I read from the Wikipedia page, she was his 11th child and seventh daughter (he had concubines that he had children with besides the empress who was also his cousin).  
**_

 _ ****= Name of a very famous ukio-ye artist. He lived during the Edo period (1603 - 1868) and enjoyed painting women and they were his favorite customers. He was quite the colorful character from what I have read as well.**_

 _ *****= This is a shout-out to Sumiko's first appearance in Vengeance. She makes this gesture when she was wandering about where to go in the shrine.**_


	3. Chapter 2: The Road Less Traveled

**Sorry for the wait everyone! Here is the second chapter! Enjoy! :)  
**

* * *

 _Hibiki-mura_

The train ride to the quiet lakeside town of Hibiki-mura was a pleasant one. Watching the Tokyo skyline, with Mt. Fuji in the background, gradually give way to lush dark green forests was a welcome change. Sumiko, Amaya and Anthony had had enough of the urban landscape and the rural scenery was a welcome change. To pass the time, the three talked and Sumiko got to learn more about Anthony. She learned that Anthony was from the state of Arkansas; had one younger brother, played football in high school from eighth grade to his senior year and was planning on attending college to study criminal justice on a full military scholarship after his tour of duty was over. He was planning on becoming a forensic arson investigator.

Meanwhile with Amaya, Sumiko simply asked how she had been today. Amaya had been doing well. Her little sister had been accepted into a university and she was very proud of her. Amaya was also going to begin an internship at an oncology research center in Tokyo and she was very excited to start it in September. The Taniguchi family was extremely proud of her since after she was to graduate, she was going to be the highest educated member of the family. Becoming an oncologist was inspired by the death of her beloved paternal aunt Suzu, who had died of breast cancer nine years earlier in 2006.

Sumiko herself had a lot going on with her life as well. The following September, she was going to Los Angeles, California as an exchange student for a whole school year. She had already paid for the deposit for her dorm room on campus and she was currently communicating with her future roommate. The two talked about everything online; the cultural differences between Japan and the United States, how their universities worked and things that Sumiko was going to see in LA like food trucks, Hispanic and African-American populations and possible celebrity sightings (Sumiko was definitely hoping to catch a glimpse of Chris Pratt or Robert Patterson) and just a totally different environment compared to Japan. Sumiko was both excited and nervous about her upcoming trip to America.

Her family was very happy for her. Her mother Rina was especially but it also saddened her knowing that her little girl was going to be studying across the Pacific for a year. Thinking about it made her cry and due to her still somewhat fragile mental state (a result of witnessing her sister's murder by the Skinless Man thirty-one years earlier) it made her cry a lot. What made it especially sad was that Ichirou Yamada, Sumiko's father, was not alive to see his daughter advance through life. Thirteen years ago, Ichirou died in a car accident when Sumiko was only nine years old.

However, the whole Yamada family knew that he would be proud of Sumi. After a two and a half hour trip, the train finally reached the Hibiki-mura station. Hibiki-mura was a pretty little lakeside town. Private residences lined the road across from the station and beyond them was the shimmering surface of Kappa Lake. Using a map that Amaya had printed off earlier at her student apartment, the trio made it to the Hinansho Forest Campgrounds.

After checking in their camping reservation and renting camping equipment like two tents (one for Sumiko and one for Amaya and Anthony), sleeping bags, a kerosene lantern, etc, the three headed off towards a small peaceful forest glade that Amaya had managed to reserve for them. Their area was a ways off from the other campers and from Hibiki-mura but it was perfect for Sumiko, Amaya and Anthony since it was welcome respite from the city. After they were done setting up, the three went back into town to explore. Hibiki-mura was built around the northern end of the lake; the buildings were organized onto two low lying, ancient stonewall tiers. The most important buildings; the train station, post office and town hall along with some private residences were on the top tier, more houses and shops were located on the second and boat and bait shops, warehouses and the like were located near the lake shore.

Long weather worn docks stretched out from the sandy shore and over the gleaming indigo blue lake. Boats were gliding or speeding about, some locals and campers were fishing or swimming in the waters. It was a peaceful scene. As the three walked through the idyllic town, Anthony had to endure the countless curious stares from the Hibiki-mura inhabitants. His hulking, muscular size, white skin and grey eyes attracted the attention of many women and Sumiko and Amaya could see some teenage girls giggling while whispering into their friends ears and blushing when Anthony made a casual glance towards them.

After a quick walk through town, the three then journeyed up the tiers to explore the scenic dirt path that encircled Kappa Lake. The view was gorgeous and there was a large concrete dock that served as a panoramic overlook for visitors and locals. Three large mounted binoculars helped people to look through to see the other side of the lake up closer, where there were two other overlooks; one on the adjacent shore and the other one at the opposite side of Hibiki-mura. The binoculars helped the young couple to observe some seagulls that were flying above the lake, ducks that floated by the shores, boats that were cruising on the water's surface and the people who were using the other overlook and trail, their forms only discernible from the bright colors of their clothing seen through the foliage of the trees. After a looking over the beautiful scenery, the three headed further down the path.

As they traversed ahead, the trio saw a flight of steps made of split logs that were embedded into the hillside and packed in with dirt that lead up to a simple wooden tori gate.

"Don't those usually represent the entrance to a Shinto shrine?" Anthony asked the young women.

"That's what it means. Have you ever been to a Shinto shrine before?" Amaya asked.

"No I haven't. Never had the time to."

Sumiko thought it was strange that Anthony, who had been stationed in Japan for over a year now, had not been to a Shinto shrine. It probably wasn't an interest of his and his comrades. They were probably more inclined to visit the bars and nightclubs in Tokyo or just to stay in their own base. Amaya however, was more than pleased to take her boyfriend to his first visit to a Shinto shrine.

"Well Andy Bear, now is your chance to finally see one in person! Come on right this way!" Amaya said with the demeanor and cheer of a tour guide.

Taking Amaya's lead, the three walked up the weather and traffic worn log steps and soon came across the shrine. It was a simple wooden shrine that was grey with age, not as elaborate or magnificent as the Watanabe Shrine. The shrine had a temizuya on the right side of the path (a purification font found at Shinto shrines for visitors to "wash away their impurities" before praying), an ema board for ema plaques meant to for written prayers and wishes on the left of the shrine, offertory box lying under the extended roof that was held up by two pillars, and what appeared to be a grave marker underneath a large pine tree. Shimenawa (sacred rope) and shide (zig-zag sacred paper) were draped between the two pillars over the box. Voices were heard coming from within the shrine and soon the double doors with shoji windows creaked open and two young women came out.

The first to emerge was a miko wearing traditional red hakama pants and white shirt with large sleeves and her hair was tied in a long ponytail. The second woman had short hair, a small beauty mark on her right cheek and was dressed in a white tank top, black jogging pants that were rolled up above her calves, black sneakers with white laces and circle on the heels and soles, and a red sweatband on her forehead to push her bangs out of her face. The women also looked very similar to the other, they had to have been sisters.

"You're welcome but I still don't think you are going to get photos of anything except maybe an owl or some raccoons." The jogger said.

"Arisu for the last time there is something here…," the miko replied back, "You are three years older than I am and have been coming to this shrine longer than I have, you have to had seen something that was out of ordinary here."

Arisu, the jogger, shook her head.

"The only things I have seen here Naeko are worshippers, raccoons, stray cats and occasionally foxes. Nothing supernatural-"

Out of the corner of her eye, Arisu saw Sumiko and her group and she immediately stopped talking and she gestured towards her sibling towards the new visitors. Naeko immediately put on a friendly, placid face and she walked towards the group with her hands folded over her lower torso.

"Welcome to the Hibiki-Tsukuyomi Shrine! Are you coming to visit, pray or both?" Naeko asked.

"Just for a visit unless…" Amaya said as she traded glances with Sumiko and Anthony. Both of them agreed that they wouldn't mind offering a small prayer and donation to the shrine. Arisu put in ear buds and she turned to Naeko.

"Catch you and Takafumi later Naeko."

She then put on music from her smartphone and she took off on a jog down the steps. Naeko looked at the group and smiled.

"I can see that you three are not from here. Are you all from Tokyo?"

The three all nodded.

"Yeah, all of us are from Tokyo," Amaya gestured towards Sumiko "she and I go to school there and my boyfriend," she then gestured towards Anthony, "serves at a US Army base there, but we are both originally from different areas of the country and he is obviously American. I for one am from Osaka."

"I'm from Shizuhara, it's a town in Fukushima." Sumiko said.

"I'm originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. It's the state capitol." Anthony said.

Naeko nodded to all of them before asking another question.

"What are your names?"

After telling the priestess their names, Naeko then proceeded to tell the group about the history of the shrine. The shrine was constructed in 1556 during the Muromachi period to honor the Shinto god of the moon Tsukuyomi. According to legend, in 1556, a fair maiden was traveling by herself to visit a sick loved one in Edo from her faraway village. One night, she stopped in Hibiki-mura to spend the night in the local inn. As she ate her evening meal in the common room with the other guests, the maiden was unaware of the lusting eyes from two male guests.

They overheard her talking to a fellow traveler that she was going to retire soon after supper so that she could get up early that morning so she could reach Edo by late afternoon. Machinations of defilement were concocted between the two men, and they too decided to retire early so that they could "meet up" with the maiden early that morning as well. A full moon was still shining brightly in the night sky, even as dawn began to creep up on the horizon, when the maiden arose from her bed and left the inn. However, the men form earlier had gotten up earlier and they blocked her path. They tried to grab her but the maiden was too quick and she ran back to the village.

She shouted for help but nobody came out and her pursuers sprinted towards the maiden and she had to run away. She ran around the lake with the men in hot pursuit. Becoming more fearful with each step, the maiden prayed to the moon god Tsukuyomi, praying to him to help her in her time of need. Tsukuyomi answered the maiden's prayer and he cloaked her with the very darkness of night, hiding her from her pursuers. Confused as to where their desired victim had gone to, Tsukuyomi in turn cursed the men to glow like the moon.

Even in broad daylight the glow would be visible and could only be removed if they confessed to their crime. Using the darkness that covered her, the maiden ran back to the village unseen as soon as she reached Hibiki-mura again, the darkness around her dissipated. This time she awoke the authorities and she told them of her harrowing experience. Investigating the shores of Lake Kappa, the authorities found the men trying desperately to wash the glow off with lake water. Realizing that they were caught, the men confessed and the glow disappeared from them.

The maiden was given some companions to walk with to Edo and before she left, she relayed to the village elder how Tsukuyomi had helped her. After the maiden left the village elder commanded that a shrine was to be built in the god's honor. Inspired by the maiden's flight around the lake, the Hibiki-Tsukuyomi Shrine began a ritualistic marathon. Every night of a full moon, pilgrims and locals would gather and they would run around Lake Kappa three times, a series of laps called the "Full Moon" and during the laps, the runners would touch the Dosojin statues and hokorua (miniature shrines) dedicated to Tsukuyomi that dotted the forest around the lake to gain the favor of the kami and Buddha. The fourth and final part of the run was a half-lap that ended by running up the steps to the shrine, called the "Half-Moon."

After reaching shrine, the runners were supposed to clap three times and offer a prayer to Tsukuyomi in the hopes he would grant them good luck. This ritual was called the "Moon Run." This marathon peaked the interest of Anthony, Amaya and Sumiko.

"When is the next Moon Run? Did you guys have it already?" Anthony asked.

Naeko shook her head.

"No we haven't had the Moon Run yet. This month's full moon is this Friday and the Run usually begins at 8pm. Are you three interested in participating?"

All three them said yes.

"Wonderful!" Naeko said and she clapped her hands softly. She gave a look towards Anthony.

"You said that you are from America. Since you are here sir, would you like to see how a Shinto prayer goes?"

"Sure please!" Anthony said and Amaya and Sumiko giggled.

Naeko turned around, showing that her jet-black ponytail was tied with a white satin ribbon with a fake snowy camellia on it, and she led the group towards the temizuya. The miko showed Anthony how to properly cleanse his hands in the water with a bamboo dipper. Following the women's lead, Anthony performed the ritual successfully. First, water was to be poured onto the left hand to cleanse it, then the right hand and after returning the dipper to the right hand, water was to be poured into the worshiper's cupped left hand so that it could be brought to the lips of the worshiper. After sipping it, the worshiper is then meant to spit the liquid out onto the stones by the temizuya to complete the purification ritual.

After cleansing themselves, Naeko led the group to in front of the offertory box and she led the group in a brief prayer. They all bowed in front of the altar twice and then clasped their hands to pray. The trio wished for a fun week of camping and Sumiko wished for a great year abroad in the United States. After completing their prayer, the three clapped their hands twice and then donated some yen into the box. Anthony decided to add some foreign flare by adding a one-dollar bill into the box.

After they were done, the group bowed one more time before they turned to leave. Anthony looked very content after having tried something new.

"So what did you think?" Sumiko asked.

"It was cool. I'm glad I got to take part of a traditional Shinto ceremony."

"Are you Christian?" Naeko asked. Anthony made a face and Naeko thought she had offended him. Before she could apologize, Anthony spoke.

"I was raised Baptist but now I identify mostly as an agnostic."

"I see. Very interesting…" Naeko said. "Before you three leave, would you like some souvenirs?"

The trio said yes and Naeko went into the shrine and she soon came out with three small items that resembled pouches.

"What are these?" Anthony asked.

"These are omamori, they are amulets that are sold at shrines to parishioners to give them good luck and holy protection." Naeko explained and then she offered the charms to the three visitors.

"Here, each of you get one."

The three each took one of the omamoris from the priestess's outstretched hands. The amulets were as long as Anthony's outstretched hand and they were made of black silk with a crescent moon and clouds sewn with shimmering gold and silver-blue thread respectively. Japanese characters woven in gold thread decorated the sable center and a white cord bow was tied through the opening flap of the amulet. There was something inside of the pouch. Anthony was about to untie the bow before Naeko stopped him.

"Don't open that!"

"Why not?" Anthony asked. Sumiko and Amaya looked at him wide-eyed.

"If you open the omamori, its protective powers will be lost. It must always be closed. The wrapping keeps the magic of the amulet stored within."

"Oh okay, I will keep it closed then." Anthony said. He looked down at the Japanese characters on the omamori. Naeko continued.

"This is a yaku-yoke omamori, a charm that protects against evil forces."

"Can always use something like that…" Anthony said.

Sumiko spoke up.

"Can I get another omamori please? I want to get one for my boyfriend back home and I will pay for this one."

"Sure and you don't have to." Naeko said. She got another charm for Sumiko and she did take the the yen that the visitor offered.

Pleased with their prayer and lesson in Shinto religion, the three turned to leave.

"Thank you for showing me how to pray!" Anthony said goodheartedly.

"You're welcome! I hope to see all soon and if not, I will see at 8pm on Friday night!" Naeko called out.

However, before the group could truly continue, Sumiko suddenly turned around.

"Before we go miss, there is one question I have to ask."

"What is that?" Naeko asked innocently.

"I don't mean to pry but what were you and that woman talking about earlier? I overheard you saying something about the supernatural."

Naeko stiffened up and her eyes widened briefly but she regained her composure.

"Oh that… I am sorry you had to hear that. That was my half-sister. I had her put a digital camera on tripod in the shrine by a window for tonight. You see, I believe that this area is haunted."

"By what…?" Sumiko asked distantly, a feeling of wariness creeping from within her body, causing her hair to stand up. Anthony and Amaya's attentions were now rapt on Naeko.

"The ghosts of the children from the Okamoto Orphanage. The orphanage was destroyed in a fire in 1949. The kids were war orphans from the Second World War and the fire killed everyone inside, including the adults that were taking care of them, except for one young girl who survived. Ever since then, ghost children have reportedly been seen around town and especially here at this shrine."

Naeko then turned around and pointed towards the shrine's right side. A tall table balanced on eight long, narrow legs (known as an _An_ ) holding a plate full of what appeared to be senbei or rice crackers was there.

"The kannushi of this shrine, my older half-brother Takafumi, leaves senbei out for the ghost children every day and mochi (rice cakes) on holidays. It is a tradition that was started by the priestess who was serving this shrine at the time, my half-great aunt… The treats are supposed to placate the souls of the children who probably still don't know that they are dead even after all of this time…"

"Oh man, that's sad..." Anthony said.

"How many people died in all?" Amaya asked.

"Twenty-four. Nineteen of them were children." Naeko replied.

Amaya tensed up upon hearing that answer. Sumiko had one more question to ask.

"Where is the Okamoto Orphanage?"

Naeko pointed up to the adjacent, tree covered hill to her right.

"Up there. No one has been up there since the fire, just priests and priestesses, including me and my half-brother going up there occasionally through an overgrown path right there to tend to the memorial there and to say a prayer for the spirits there…"

Naeko said as she moved her pointed finger towards a young, pale, skinny dogwood tree and some thick green forest shrubbery. Sumiko could make out a small dirt trail but the mottled spots of sunlight through the foliage almost obscured it. Sumiko felt tense now, memories from four years ago began to come back to her. She did not want to see anymore ghosts, she did not want to be at the Hibiki-Tsukuyomi Shrine right then. She wanted to leave.

Thankfully, Anthony and Amaya were ready to leave themselves and they all bowed respectfully and said farewell to Naeko before they left. Descending down the stairs, the conversation shared between the three was undoubtedly about the Okamoto Orphanage.

"It's so sad about what happened to those children…" Amaya said.

"Yeah really… Can you imagine burning to death?" Anthony said.

Amaya and Sumiko shook their heads and both said no.

"Its especially sad considering what those kids had gone through four years earlier…" Sumiko said.

"Yeah…" Anthony said. He sounded uncomfortable about the mentioning of World War II.

"Are you uncomfortable about talking about the war Anthony? Since you're in Japan and that you're American?" Sumiko asked concerned.

"Maybe…" Anthony said. "I just know that it can be a sensitive topic amongst people, especially the ones who were… defeated."

"Its okay Andy Bear," Amaya said, "we are both okay with it. I mean, World War Two ended almost seventy years ago. That's plenty of times for those wounds to heal."

"I understand, but time can't always heal everything and it is always good to be contentious of others." Anthony replied.

The women both agreed. Now that they had left shrine, the trio needed something else to do. Since they were going to attend the Moon Run that Friday night, the three decided that they wanted to practice by first doing a powerwalk around the lake. By three, it meant that Anthony had suggested it and had roped in the women with his charisma and charm. It went well, seeing the various parts of Lake Kappa and the people who were walking too, hiking in the woods or boating out on the water was quite comforting and immersive for the group.

Halfway through the powerwalk, Anthony challenged the women to a run back to their starting point by the shrine. Being a soldier and having undergone intensive physical training, Anthony was easily able to outrun his girlfriend and her friend. He was standing tall and smiling like a little boy from the pathway by the shrine as he watched Amaya and Sumiko reach him, panting, sweaty and red.

"Come on ladies, you're in the same shape as I am. You can't be out of breath already."

"Shut up Anthony…" Amaya panted and this reply only made his sweet, childish grin bigger. "You're a soldier… You were trained to outrun civilians…"

"Maya Doll I saw you sprint faster than I have when you had to get back to your classes that one day."

"Well that's because I was late for them! This is totally different…"

Anthony turned to look at Sumiko.

"How are you feeling Sumiko? You managed to beat Amaya!"

Sumiko looked at him with her dark eyes, panting and gripping her knees with her hands.

"Fine… Yay…" she answered his questions respectively. With the way she was panting, Sumiko swore she was going to cough up one of her own lungs.

"Did you take track?" Anthony asked.

"No…" Sumiko wished she could tell Anthony about her time at Watanabe Shrine. How some of the ghostly encounters she had caused her and Akio and Shuu to run like the wind upon seeing them. She looked randomly to her left and through the trees and brush; Sumiko saw something out of place. It looked like a very old fence made out of strung together bamboo. Sumiko pointed towards it.

"Hey look at that…" Sumiko said pointing at the fence.

Amaya and Anthony looked.

"What am I looking at-" Anthony said and then he saw the fence too. He walked over towards it, climbing up the slope. It was really old, the bamboo was spotted with mold and it was grey from weather and neglect. Looking over it, Anthony saw something.

"Hey, there's an old road here." He said. He looked down and he saw that the road had started right at the path, hidden by bushes and tree roots.

"Walk over there where the road starts so you two don't have to walk over the fence." Anthony said. The women followed his command and they came over.

"Where do you think this road leads to?" Amaya said.

"Maybe that orphanage that Naeko mentioned." Sumiko answered.

"Cool! Lets check it out!" Anthony said.

Sumiko wanted to say no but she didn't want to be rude. She followed the two. It was a steep and winding road, the old gravel pavement being uneven from time and nature taking its course on it. After spending what felt like ten minutes walking up the road, the group came across and an old stone fence with a rusted iron fence gate. An inscription block was on the fence and it said: _"Saitou Mansion."_

In front of the fence was a large stone marker that looked "younger" than the one on the wall. Despite being covered in lichen and moss, the inscription was still legible. It said: _"Okamoto Orphanage."_

The group looked at each other anxious excitement. Just beyond the gate was the orphanage. Pushing through the rusted gate, the group made their way into the large courtyard to get a closer look at the burned ruin before them. The façade was quite large. Six long windows dotted the front; two at the bottom and four at the top and some of them were broken, a small round veranda was over the main entrance and a blackened tile roof made up the structure's exterior.

The grey stonewalls were charred black from the fire that scorched it sixty-six years earlier. It was an imposing sight. Walking across the pavement, the three got closer to it and they also noticed something strange. They couldn't hear anything. The sounds of boat motors, people talking, birds singing and not even the excited squealing of swimmers and boaters could be heard.

It was a silent as a grave at the top of the hill that the Okamoto Orphanage rested on. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the trio's feet grinding and scattering the gravel beneath their footwear. In front of the entrance were two large stones that had bronze plaques on them. The first one on the left said:

" _To commemorate the innocent lives lost in the Okamoto Fire of 1949. Children who had survived the worst of World War II, only to be cut down by a cruel stroke of fate on July 31, 1949 when a fire broke out in the orphanage and killed everyone except for one blessed young soul. Along with the deceased children, their caretakers shall also be remembered for dedicating their lives to taking care of and protecting the parent-less young ones. Inscribed below in bronze, may the names of the people who had died here never be forgotten._

The names of the twenty-four victims of the fire were embossed below the inscription including their ages. However, time and weather had worn out most of the characters making up the names.

 _( The Adults)_

 _Gertrude Fairchild (50)_

 _Francine Julie Moyer (29)_

 _Hiromi Okamoto (23)_

 _Sachiko Okamoto (60)_

 _Claudia Yamashita (23)_

 _( The Children)_

 _Tomohiro Abe (5)_

 _Yoshio Abe (5)_

 _Tetsuya Aoki (6)_

 _Yuko Aoki (12)_

 _Chiharu Gato (8)_

 _Kimi Hayabusa (6)_

 _Masayuki Ishii (9)_

 _Hayate Kichida (10)_

 _Satomi Kichida (8)_

 _Izumi Kobayashi (8)_

 _Kazuo Nakashima (10)_

 _Hana Kiyomizu (6)_

 _Mei Rin (11)_

 _Shun Suzuki (7)_

 _Chouko Takahashi (6)_

 _Fumiko Takahashi (6)_

 _Jiro Ueda (8)_

 _Daisuke Yamamoto (9)_

 _Ume Yoshida (8)_

The other plaque was much shorter and it had only three names along with an adjacent panel with the Japanese translation for the English plaque.

" _To honor the three nurses who served in the United States Army and died here in the Okamoto Fire of 1949. They gave their lives trying to protect the children in the orphanage during the fire of July 31, 1949. In life, these three noble women healed, nurtured and tried to mend the post-war ties between America and Japan through the orphans and their native caretakers. In death, they shall be remembered as the brave women who went above and beyond their station to try and save the children at the cost of their own lives. May their sacrifices be eternally remembered through this plaque and in the memories of their loves ones back home._

 _Gertrude Fairchild of Plymouth, Massachusetts (50)_

 _Francine Julie Moyer of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (29)_

 _Claudia Yamashita of Fresno, California (23)_

 _A gift from the Higashi-Edo United States Army Base. Delivered and commemorated on August 10, 1949."_

"Look at all of these names…" Amaya said sadly, "So many kids…"

Sumiko looked over the façade of the Okamoto Orphanage. Clusters of ivy vines creeped up the stone and it went through the broken glass in the windows and reached the charred roof. She walked up to the closest window to the left and she looked in. Despite the soot on the inside of the glass, Sumiko could make out some of the interior but vaguely at best even though the summer sun was shining through the windows and holes of the orphanage. However, despite the visual obstruction, Sumiko saw something inside the entrance hall.

In the sunlight, in beneath what appeared to be a mezzanine, Sumiko she saw something. At first, she thought it was just more soot but then Sumiko's vision focused on the shape and she realized that its shape was way too… human like. The hairs on the back of Sumiko's neck stood up on end. Her heart began to beat faster when she saw the shadowy figure begin to move towards her. An object being held by the figure glinted in the sunlight.

Sumiko could feel the color drain from her face, her fingers sticking to the windows and her eyes widening.

"Oh my god!"

Amaya's loud voice startled the shadowy figure and it suddenly dashed somewhere to its right. This caused Sumiko to jump away from the window in fright and she turned to look at her friend. Amaya was staring up at one of the second story windows, her right hand on her chest and her eyes wide with fright. Anthony came over to her.

"Amaya what's wrong?" He asked.

"There was a girl up in the window there!"

The frightened woman pointed towards the window to the building's left that had a huge jagged hole in it.

"She was looking at me. She was wearing a pretty purple kimono with a white obi. Her skin was so pale…"

"Amaya, your head's playing tricks on you." Anthony said matter-of-factually.

Amaya gave her boyfriend a shocked and angry look.

"No Anthony… My mind was not playing tricks on me. I saw a girl in that window! She was right there!" Amaya said angrily, gesturing towards the window.

Anthony looked at the windows himself.

"Nope nothing. Maybe what Naeko said earlier is getting to you, you know? She said that this place was haunted so you are starting to see ghosts."

Amaya shook her head vigorously at that remark.

"No… No! This was way too specific to be product of my imagination. I mean, if this were a product of my own mind, why was her kimono purple? Wouldn't it have been my favorite color yellow?"

Anthony shrugged.

"I don't know what to tell you Amaya. Believe what you want. How about we go back to our campsite and explore there? Get away from this creepy place?"

Amaya nodded softly.

"Alright… Lets get out of here. Come on Sumi."

Sumiko followed them. As they passed through the gate and towards the steep hill, a chill went up Sumiko's spine.

"Please don't go…"

It sounded like the voice of a young girl…

Sumiko froze. She hesitantly turned around to see a girl wearing a purple kimono with a plum flower and branch design that was tied by a white obi. The girl had a long bob cut hairstyle and dark eyes and her skin was paper white…

She reached out her right hand towards Sumiko.

"Please help me… Help us…"

The girl's sad plea touched Sumiko's heart and she found herself reaching for the child's hand herself albeit hesitantly. Before their palms could touch, a familiar voice called after Sumiko.

"Sumi are you okay? Where are you?"

It was Amaya. She and Anthony had walked down and had realized that Sumiko had not followed them. Sumiko snapped out of whatever trance she was in and she saw her friends coming up the path and then she looked back.

The girl in the purple kimono was gone…

 _Later that night…._

Cicadas buzzed in the night air as an occasional frog croaked by the creek bank near the trio's campsite. Soft snoring coming from Anthony and Amaya's tent was audible in Sumiko's tent. However, this was not the reason why she was tossing and turning so much in her sleeping bag. An all too familiar cinematic sequence had appeared once again into Sumiko's dreams. Once again, an episode from the past replayed itself in a broken, monochrome pattern within her mind.

The form of an airplane glittered in the sun.

Soon more planes arrived and a cascade of black objects began to fall out from their undercarriages and onto a sprawling city below…

A pale writhing inferno began to engulf the city into a fierce apocalyptic conflagration…

People carrying possessions and small children ran screaming into the burning streets...

Tears and sweat fell as civilians struggled to survive or to combat the flames…

A soldier set ablaze jumped over a concrete railing and into a river full of soot stained refugees. They screamed and waded away as fast as they could to avoid his burning body as it crashed into the water below…

A woman hanging from a scorched tree…

A little girl watched the grim spectacle of the hanging woman amidst the thick smoke and swirling ash that engulfed her burning street…

The Purple Kimono Girl appeared again within the dream in full color.

"Please help me… Help us…" she begged once more.

That was it. Sumiko couldn't ignore the girl's haunting cries for help. She unzipped her sleeping bag and she crawled over to one of the sports bags she had stuffed into the corner of the tent. In the biggest one, Sumiko pulled out what she needed, a Camera Obscura. Four years earlier at Watanabe Shrine, the Half-Skinned Man ghost had destroyed the Camera but thankfully Shuu's father was able to fix it.

After Watanabe Shrine's cleansing, Sumiko used the camera for more peaceful purposes. She used it as a decoration for her student apartment as well as for taking pictures. There was something satisfying about the clicking sound, soon followed by a blinding flash and then developing the resulting photo that Sumiko couldn't get enough of. And now, the Camera was going to be used for its true purpose once again. Sumiko wasn't sure what she was going to encounter in the Okamoto Orphanage but she felt safer having the Camera with her.

After silently getting dressed and sneaking out of her tent, Sumiko quietly made it back through the sleeping town and she then reached the overgrown path to the orphanage. In the darkness of night, the orphanage looked like a layer of evil. The windows were pitch black and the silence that surrounded the orphanage was deafening. The scene took Sumiko back to when she first entered the Watanabe Shrine. The fear and the exhilaration of exploring a neglected and forgotten area, it all came back to her along with one extra emotion, anxiety; a deep, deep anxiety.

"Okay… why I am here? Why am I doing this again?" Sumiko asked herself.

Then she remembered the girl's plea and that freakish dream. The flashback looked like it was depicting the fire bombings that plagued Tokyo during the last year of World War II… The scenes that unfurled looked exactly like the old footage and photographs Sumiko had seen in past history classes. It broke her heart as well as motivated her to help the girl. Sumiko sighed loudly.

"Alright… this is for the kids. Whatever they want, I hope it's easy…"

Sumiko took a deep breath and she walked towards the front door with a flashlight in hand. Grabbing the weather worn silver doorknob of the left double door, she pulled it open, the old hinges creaking under the pressure and she walked into the darkness and unknown…

* * *

 **And so it begins again... What will Sumiko see on her first night? It will definitely not be easy... Hehehehehe...  
**

 **Anyway, it was fun researching Shinto prayer and omamoris. Speaking of which, the latter will become important soon. Also, the chapter is inspired by the title of a famous Robert Frost poem called, "The Road Not Taken." Supposed to be a reference to the overgrown path in both stories here. I will try to post the next chapter as soon as I find the time, finals are coming up and with that, graduation! Wish me luck!**

 **Thank you for reading and _please review! :)_**


	4. Chapter 3: Ruins of Innocence

**Hello everyone! I know it has been awhile since I posted another chapter for this story. I have been quite busy these last few months. Wrapping up finals, graduating from college, looking for jobs and just enjoying the summer weather have been dominating my time recently. Plus writers block too. But here it is, the third chapter to Cries of the Children! Sumiko will be the first person to enter Okamoto Orphanage ever since the Fire of '49. What will she find there? Read on and find out! :)  
**

* * *

 _Okamoto Orphanage_

 _March of 1945…_

 _Sunlight wafted through the budding branches as a car wove through the winding driveway. Three children sat in the back seat and everyone was silent, including the middle-aged male driver and the female chaperone that was escorting the youngsters to their new home. The youngest child, a four year old girl, was wearing a simple grey kimono with white pinstripes and she held a similarly clad, albeit in the color pink and slightly charred, doll close to her chest, her face very morose for a child her age. Her features were dark because she, along with the other two children; an older boy and another girl around the grey clad girl's age, had experienced things that no child should ever experience. The Americans had firebombed Tokyo recently and now other cities were being carpet bombed with incendiaries, turning whole cities into massive bonfires that left nothing but the black, charred skeletons of what were once grand structures or homes, if anything was left at all._

 _The young girl had lost her father two years before somewhere out in the Pacific and since then, it had just been the girl and her mother living their day-to-day lives during wartime together. But now, she was gone too… The child had been sent to other orphanages but they were all crowded since other shelters for children bereaved of parents had been burnt to the ground by the fire bombings. Other orphanages and foster homes in the region around Tokyo offered to take in more orphans from the city. The young girl had been picked at random along with the other two orpans to be sent to the rural town of Hibiki-mura to live in the Okamoto Orphanage._

 _After a long train ride out of Tokyo with the chaperone, the children had been picked up at the train station by a driver that was hired by the Okamoto Orphanage matron. The driver was friendly but very quiet; undoubtedly his mind was plagued by the overwhelming sense of doom and despair that was starting to creep into_ _Japan as the Allies began to gain the upper hand and as the Americans were getting closer and closer to the island country through their former Pacific holdings. After what felt like an eternity, the car finally reached the apex of the hill. The children leaned forward and gazed in awe at the stone fence, iron gate and the majesty of the mansion like Okamoto Orphanage. It was an impressive looking place._

 _A woman stood outside of the entrance with her hands folded over her stomach. She appeared to be in her late fifties or early sixties, was overweight and wore a coal dust colored kimono with a white apron wrapped around her waist, her jet black hair (that had small half-moon shaped spots of silver just above her ears) was tied into a traditional tight bun. The woman smiled softly when the car pulled up into the courtyard. The driver came out and he opened the door for the chaperone first before then opening the ones for the children to come out. Quietly the orphans filed out and they stood side by side in silence._

 _The middle aged woman walked over to the children._

 _"Good afternoon everyone."_

 _The woman and everyone present bowed simultaneously in respect. The woman continued._

 _"My name is Okamoto, Sachiko. What are your names? Lets start with the young man on the left." Sachiko said as she looked at the young boy, who wore a navy blue kimono, spoke up._

 _"My name is Kichida, Hayate and this," he looked towards the young girl beside him, "is my sister Satomi."_

 _Satomi was wearing a bright yellow kimono with two red stripes on the sleeves and above the hem of the of dress part of the outfit. Sachiko smiled and she spoke._

 _"What lovely names. What are your ages?"_

 _"I'm six." Hayate said and he turned to his little sister._

 _"Say what your age is Satomi." Hayate encouraged._

 _Little Satomi spoke up._

 _"Four." She said._

 _A sad look flashed in Sachiko's eyes. She felt terrible for the children. So young and, as far as she knew, had lost so much already. Eyeing the girl holding the doll, Sachiko spoke to her._

 _"What is your name dear?"_

 _The girl didn't have an older sibling to encourage her to speak up and her shyness caused her to hug her doll even harder and for her to look at her feet. Sachiko asked the question again but the girl still didn't respond. As the chaperone apologized to Sachiko for the girl's reluctance, the young girl just clung to her doll and she retreated into her young thoughts. She desperately wished that she was back home in Tokyo again with her mother. Back to the days when the girl's biggest worry was not being able to catch a tremuri ball during their games in her neighbor's garden._

 _After the adults finished talking, Sachiko turned towards the children and she smiled sympathetically at them. The pop sound of the car's trunk being opened was heard. Turning around, the children saw the driver leaning into the trunk to pull out one suitcase. It was for the Kichida siblings, the grey girl had nothing left after the firebombings. Most of her worldly possessions had either burned away to cinder or were stolen by desperate people. All she had left was her doll…_

 _Sachiko and the chaperone then turned to the children and began to gently herd them into their new home as the driver followed with the Kichida's suitcase. The grey girl felt scared. The orphanage was so big. She was afraid that if she were to wander the halls by herself, she would get lost and be gone forever. Sachiko opened the doors and she then turned around and gestured the children to go inside…_

* * *

 _July 20, 2015…_

The charred, weathered door creaked as Sumiko opened it. She stepped inside into what may have once been a very beautiful foyer, which was now a fire blackened and plant invaded wreck. The great luminescence provided by her flashlight helped to illuminate the dark and eerie space. The Fire of '49 had truly decimated the place. The wooden bannisters were charred black and some of the balusters were gone as well with the broken off pieces lying on the charred floor. Soot and scorch marks decorated the walls and looking up towards the ceiling, Sumiko saw a crystal chandelier.

The dangling crystals glimmered from under a blanket of soot and cobwebs and a few of them twinkled like stars as Sumiko's flashlight hovered over them and then moved away. Sumiko looked around at the windows that dotted the walls. One window to her left on the mezzanine above had ivy growing through it, the vines and leaves having snaked their way under the windowpane and rooting themselves into the cracked and burned wall. Taking careful steps, Sumiko proceeded cautiously across the floor. She was walking towards a simple door that was underneath the mezzanine and was close by a set of stairs. Sumiko wanted to make a thorough investigation if she could of the ground floor before she proceeded up to the second.

Upon reaching the door, Sumiko saw the soot covered doorknob. Not wanting to stain her hand, she folded the hem of her shirt and she covered her hand with it and she reached for the knob. The door was locked but the doorknob could be turned around completely. Sumiko jiggled the knob some more and she rattled the door to no avail. Just as she was about to give up on trying to open the door, she heard a noise come from the second floor.

The old, blackened floorboards above creaked under the weight of what clearly sounded like footsteps. Sumiko became frozen where she stood as she listened raptly towards the noise. It sounded like it was coming from the mezzanine to her right. But looking over the bannister above, Sumiko didn't see anyone there…

As suddenly as the noise had appeared, it stopped. Sumiko just stood there for a solid minute, her enrobed hand still clutching the doorknob. She was scared, terrified of what she had just heard and she wished that somebody else had had the idea to come explore this place too. But she knew this to be a fallacy. Forcing herself to let go of the knob, Sumiko then willed herself to go to towards the stairs.

Before ascending, Sumiko tentatively pressed her right foot onto the first step and she put her full weight on it to test to see if it was still sturdy enough to support her. The charred wood groaned a little but it still held her foot. Gaining confidence, Sumiko began to walk up the stairs. Despite the summer heat, Sumiko noticed how cool it was inside the orphanage ruins and as she got closer to the second floor, it got even colder. It was like being inside of a freezer and Sumi held herself and rubbed her arms to calm her goose bumps and to warm herself.

There was a broken window at the front of the building but Sumiko knew deep down that the cool air was not coming through there… As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, a pale figure suddenly materialized around the corner of the hallway that was there. The figure, a tall Caucasian woman with what appeared to be wavy blond hair done up in a style that was popular in the late 1940's, was wearing an immaculate nurse's outfit from the same era complete with a dark blue cloak that was draped over her shoulders and a nurse's cap that crowned her golden head. Sumiko became planted to the spot with surprise and she watched as the Blonde Nurse simply walked quietly down the hallway before disappearing only a minute later. As soon as she had disappeared, the temperature in the room became a little warmer.

Sumiko breathed a sigh of relief, happy that the spirit of the woman did not see her at the stairs. Looking on ahead at the hallway, Sumiko shined her flashlight down the dark and desolate place and she saw something laying on the ground where the nurse had disappeared. Making her way across the, much to her chagrin, noisy floorboards Sumiko discovered that the object was a piece of paper. Curious, she picked it up and saw neat cursive handwriting. It was in English but Sumiko could understand it.

It said:

 _"Claudia, remember that tonight at midnight is the night of the séance with that mirror again. Meet me in front of the upstairs parlor doors and I will give you the key to the children's room. Wake up the two girls and bring them to the room. Be careful not to wake up the other kids! Most importantly of all, be wary of Gertrude. She may be old but she is still sharp as a tack and I get the feeling she knows something is going on…_

 _See you tonight._

 _\- Francine"_

Sumiko scrutinized the names that were mentioned in the note. Claudia, Gertrude and Francine… Those were the names of the three American nurses that perished in the Fire of '49. Looking down the hallway, Sumiko ascertained correctly that the blonde haired ghost that she just saw was Francine Moyer. But this note now opened up a series of unexpected and bizarre questions. What did Francine mean by "séance with that mirror again?"

What was the mirror she was referring to and why did Claudia have to bring two girls to the séance? Also, why was Gertrude kept in the dark about the paranormal ritual? Sumiko had a sinking feeling that the tragic 1949 blaze may have had an even more sinister background then previously imagined… It was the same feeling she remembered experiencing at the Watanabe Shrine. The sense of dread, fearing that her and the lives of her friend and boyfriend were doomed and that death would soon come to greet them at the next hallway in the form of the Skinless Man.

But now, a new and even more ominous force had come into Sumiko's life and she did not know what form it had this time. For all she knew, it could have been Francine. Shaking her head of these thoughts, Sumiko looked around. She explored the mezzanine, walking around the entire thing and coming back to the hallway without finding anything standing out of the ordinary except for the sharp shards of glass that lied about in front of the smashed window. With nowhere else to go, Sumiko proceeded down the hallway.

It was pitch black down the hallway and the great light of the flashlight helped Sumiko to see what was present. There were more doors down this passage and the walls were the charred remnants of picture frames; whatever was depicted in the photographs behind the stained glass covers had long since been reduced to a bubbled melted mess and old gas lamps, scorched radiators and a random small dresser beneath a blackened mirror lined the walls. When Sumiko shined her flashlight upon one of the gas lamps, a light suddenly flared up and the same thing happened to the other lamps as well. This bizarre phenomenon startled Sumiko and she jumped when she watched the hallway become illuminated by a dull, warm light.

Breathing heavily, Sumiko tried to calm down her shocked nerves. Turning off her flashlight, Sumiko approached the door to her left. It was charred but the door wouldn't even budge. Just as she turned around to go to the door adjacent to the one she tried to open, Sumiko's hearing picked up something. It was a very soft sound that resembled a child crying.

"Big brother… I don't want to die…"

The words tore at Sumiko's heart, so much so that she all but ran further down the hall to avoid hearing anymore heartbreaking ghostly voices. Just as she reached the end of the hallway and where another one began horizontally, a cold, prickling aura caught Sumiko's rattled attention. Turning to her right, Sumiko noticed a double door. Unlike the rest of the place, the doors mahogany paneling was unmarked by soot or burn marks and its brass handles gleamed in the light of the gas lamps. Recognizing the aura as being similar to what she had seen back at Watanabe Shrine, Sumiko lifted the Camera Obscura up to her face to see what it could "see."

The Viewfinder lit up and Sumiko clicked the button. After the blinding flash, the image on the Viewfinder changed into an unrecognizable, distorted mass. Sumiko removed the Camera from her eye and she stared at the door perplexed. A strange, red circle with hiragana text appeared on the door. It looked like some sort of magic seal and a very powerful one at that. Sumiko had never seen anything like this before back in Watanabe Shrine.

"You need the song…"

A familiar, childish voice startled Sumiko from her concentration and she turned to her left to see the same purple kimono wearing girl from earlier that afternoon. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other and nothing was said between them. The young girl then suddenly disappeared and then reappeared before Sumiko, causing her to step back suddenly with surprise. Unfazed by the young woman's reaction towards her teleportation, the young girl silently reached out towards Sumiko's right hand with her left and she placed a scrap of paper into the palm with her right without breaking her gaze from Sumiko's eyes.

"The others have the other lyrics around here too. Find them all and recite—"

The soft tinkling of metal filled the still air.

The young girl suddenly stopped talking as she refocused her gaze towards something, or someone, down the hallway. Feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, a shiver went down Sumiko's spine. Something powerful was behind her. Her fears were confirmed as the air became a frightening silent film-esque monochrome and a cloud of fog escaped from Sumiko's lips as she began to breath heavier with anxiety and fear. Summoning the courage to turn around, Sumiko turned to see who was coming.

It was a woman. She was wearing a black kimono decorated with what appeared to be a red spider lily flower pattern, hakama pants underneath and the woman's hair was tied back into a ponytail just like a miko's. On her brow line was a bira-bira, a kind of hair ornament (kanzashi) that had small rectangular pieces of metal hanging from rings connected to the piece along with a crown of three fake, silk Japanese bellflowers and red string was tied around the long strands of hair that graced the woman's shoulders in diamond shaped patterns. Strangest of all, the woman had an eye patch over her left eye and a great cloud of smoke that filled her end of the hallway was behind her. She was an eerily beautiful specter, but was just as terrifying.

"Get away from there…," she hissed in a deep resonating voice that was filled with a simmering anger, "Get away from that door!"

Sumiko ran. Following her instincts, she sprinted down the right-side hallway, rounded a corner and found a door and she went towards it. Thankfully, it wasn't locked and she let herself in and all but slammed the door. The monochrome air disappeared and color returned, but Sumiko dreaded that it wouldn't last. She just stood there in the room, shaking and scared senseless, waiting for the frightening spirit of that woman to phase through the wall to come after her again.

After what felt like an hour (actually five minutes), Sumiko fell to her knees. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest as a familiar sense of dread began to overwhelm her.

"Not this again… not this again," She said to herself. "Why is a spirit like that here anyway? This was an orphanage, not a shrine. Why is she here? Was this place built on the foundation of a torn down shrine sometime in the past?"

Ruminating over these facts helped Sumiko to collect herself and she stood up to take a look around her new surroundings. It was a small bedroom. A dust clouded window stood pitch black against the wall and beside it, a blackened dresser with old, greyed handles, three red kimono boxes stacked to its right and the charred remains of a bed frame and its mattress. Adjacent to the bed and dresser was a cheval mirror that was covered in dust and soot. That girl in the purple kimono told Sumiko to find the remaining lyrics to a song. She looked at the crinkled note that the girl had given to her.

" _Firefly, firefly_

 _Lantern of the night_

 _Your light shines so bright_

 _Glorious as cherry blossoms_

 _Short lived as they..."_

The lyrics were interesting. They sounded similar to a song that Sumiko remembered singing when she was a child. It was called Hotaru Koi, a song about fireflies and was traditionally sung by children during the summer nights when the fireflies would be out searching for mates. During those summer nights years before, Sumiko's parents would sometimes take her outside into the woods around their home and they would watch the fireflies light up the air with their golden bioluminescence. Sometimes Sumiko's father would help her catch the brilliant little insects with mason jars or traditional paper lanterns.

She could remember giggling as the tiny flares of light began to glow like an inferno as the creatures flew and scuttled about in their prisons and the great lit wave that resulted at they were released. She could almost hear her mother and father's laughter again. See them smiling as well… But after Ichirou, her father, died in a car accident in 2002, Sumiko and her mother Rina never went on another firefly excursion ever again. Her mother simply shut down and Sumiko had to grow up and deal with her parent's depression and learning how to live without her father.

Closing her eyes, as if like a sluice gate to stop the wave of painful memories from getting to her, Sumiko reminded herself of the Purple Girl's plea.

"Find the rest of the lyrics she said. I don't know how the rest of the song goes. Is this portion here the first part or the second? I wish I knew…"

An idea came into Sumiko's mind and she got out her phone. However when the screen lit up, she saw that there was no service. She was alone on her quest, her only solace being that the camp grounds and town would have reliable cellular service. Denied the Internet for now, Sumiko decided to search the room that she was in. She hoped that some clue towards the song had survived the fire.

She looked in the dresser and hit pay dirt. Inside the third drawer was what appeared to be a dairy. It had somehow survived the fire, possibly through paranormal means Sumiko thought or simply because it was shoved back in the far corner of the drawer with some old blouses covering it. It wasn't left unscathed by the passage of time however. The cover was a dark blue and with an illustration of bush clovers on it while inside, the pages were a yellowish-brown and the graphite pencil writings were somewhat faded but, thankfully, were still legible.

 _" January 1, 1949_

 _The first day of the New Year. It is quite exciting. I haven't felt this happy in a long time since before the surrender… Aunt Sachiko and the nurses are letting the children sleep in today. They were up until midnight last night waiting for the birth of the New Year._

 _They ate so many noodles ***** last night that I don't think the kids will need breakfast today! With Claudia translating, everyone spent the night talking, laughing and learning about how Americans and the Japanese celebrate New Years. The mirth was intoxicating. I hope for more moments like this. It feels like the war had never happened in the first place when I hear the children laugh so merrily."_

The passage was cute and sentimental but Sumiko skipped through some of the pages to get closer to the summer months section. She finally came across an early June section that looked promising:

" _June 3, 1949_

 _The weather has been getting warmer. The children chatter eagerly about it soon being hot enough to go swimming in the lake here. To save money, Aunt Sachiko and the nurses and I have been mending some of the children's swimsuits to either patch up holes or to loosen the seams to make them bigger for their growing owners. All three of the nurses are good at sewing but Gertrude is a master at it. She just sits at the table with her sewing machine and she fixes a pair of swim trunks so well that they look like they had just been bought._

 _I hear her humming some kind of song while she works. Claudia told me that it was a Christian hymn. It should have been obvious to me since the woman wears a cross necklace around her neck. Speaking of songs, ever since Daisuke first spotted fireflies from the orphans' bedroom window last night, the children have all been singing Hotaru, Hotaru. It's such an enchanting song._

 _I think it was written by a priestess who served the Hibiki-Tsukuyomi Shrine here centuries ago. Claudia and Francine were curious about it, especially Claudia. They both want to know the lyrics. I think Aunt Sachiko keeps a collection of traditional children's songs in the multi-purpose room downstairs... I know the song is described in there."_

Sumiko felt a wave of exhilaration. She had found her first clue! But before she left, she decided to check the rest of the room for anything else that may be of importance now or later. Noticing that there was another door in the room, Sumiko went inside and she discovered that it was a bathroom. The room had received a good deal of scorching, yet the bathtub still retained a lovely ivory gleam from Sumiko's flashlight. Looking inside the medicine cabinet, Sumiko discovered a small brown bottle with a faded, time tanned paper label with small vibrant black lettering.

" _Okamoto, Hiromi_

 _Fukuda Family Herbal Blend Specialty_

 _Whenever pain is felt anywhere in the body, take one or two herbal capsules (depending on how much pain you are in) with water or tea. The healing effects of the herbs should work within an hour and your pain will be gone._

 _~Fukuda Pharmacy"_

Sumiko scrutinized the bottle she held in her hand.

"Pain medicine huh? Maybe this will come in handy later. Hopefully they won't make me sick instead…"

She pocketed the medicine. Looking into the dusty and charred mirror, Sumiko took a deep breath. She had to go back outside into the hallway where that dark priestess's ghost was. Summoning her courage, Sumiko walked back towards the bedroom door. Taking a firm grip on the handle, Sumiko cautiously opened the door, the hinges creaking all the while.

* * *

 **The plot thickens! The "Hotaru, Hotaru" song I created is based off the real "Hotaru Koi" song that Japanese children sing during the summer. There is a recording of it on Youtube and it is very mesmerizing to listen to. I plan on using "Hotaru, Hotaru" in a traditional shinto incantation called "kotodama." According to my research (paraphrasing too), kotodama is the "power of words" and that the chanting of beautiful words can bring about good and while saying ugly ones will bring evil. Since the song's backstory includes that it was written by a shinto priestess, the song should have added effect.  
**

 **Also, the red spider lily flowers that decorate the "Black Priestess's" clothing, also known as higanbana, is a flower that represents death in Japanese culture. It was once planted on graves since its poisonous roots deterred animals from digging up the remains. Also, if you were to meet someone that you were never going to see again, these flowers would supposedly appear along their path. In Fatal Frame IV, Kageri Sendou mentions these flowers in her diary, calling them amaryllis flowers.  
**

 **I hope I am not boring you with my tangent! Its just very fascinating. Well anyway, thank you for reading and please review! :) **

**PS: *= According to the "Photos of Old Japan" site, during New Years Eve, it is customary for families to eat noodles during the Old Years final hours. In wealthier households, the servants share the feast with their employers relatives as a sign of solidarity.  
**


	5. Chapter 4: Blood in the Water

**Here is the next chapter of Sumiko's second paranormal journey! Enjoy and Junia Grey, you will be getting your "ghost action" in this one!**

 **Author's Note:** **Blood and Gore ahead.**

* * *

The old door opened and Sumiko stepped into the hallway. The Dark Priestess wasn't there. Relief washed over the young woman and she sighed with a relaxed tone. She still had to be careful however just in case the ghost ambushed her and Sumiko was pretty sure that the Camera Obscura would not work on a ghost like that. She remembered how during their first night at Watanabe Shrine how both she and Akio Toshimoto were fleeing the Skinless Man and how Akio tried taking a picture with his Camera and how the film crumbled to ash.

Walking down the old hallway, Sumiko kept her eyes and ears pealed for any sign of ghosts or paranormal activity. A din of voices became audible as Sumiko got closer to the corner. It sounded like the voices of children. Sumiko couldn't make out what they were saying and she could also hear over a dozen footsteps making their way down the hall. The sound of grating metal was heard echoing down the hall.

As soon as she took to the corner of the hallway, the noises stopped and everything was still again. Down the hallway, Sumiko noticed another door and what appeared to be a stained and rusted antique brass elevator door. Due to the recent events she had gone through, she hadn't given the elevator a second thought and besides, it was covered with soot and it blended in with the rest of the scorched environment. Sumiko went towards the elevator doors, hoping for a clue. A wavering aura hovered over keyhole panel.

Using the Camera Obscura, Sumiko took a photograph of the aura. The image of an open charred desk appeared and one of the compartments was open. Gleaming in this compartment was a small key. Sumiko sighed with annoyance and began speaking aloud to herself.

"If these ghosts want me to help them, why can't they just give me the key instead of me having to go on a wild goose chase for it? Its so annoying and clichéd."

Sumiko shrugged her shoulders.

"Then again, these are the ghosts of children. Kids usually don't think things through completely."

Sumiko then began to think where she had to go next. The door beneath the second floor mezzanine was locked, so obviously the door straight down from the elevator was the most plausible action to take next.

"What are you doing here…?" An otherworldly voice resounded quietly.

The gas lamps began to flicker on and off in rapid succession as did Sumiko's flashlight.

"What the hell?!" Sumiko said in alarm as she examined her flashlight with disbelief.

"You aren't supposed to be here… You are an intruder…"

The flickering's intensity increased and it seemed to be in rhythm with Sumiko's palpitating heart. Looking down the hallway, Sumiko saw a pale figure materialize. It looked like a nurse. She walked slowly towards Sumiko, each step was deliberate and menacing. Sumiko quickly brought the Camera Obscura up to her face and she waited.

"Come on… Come on… Get a little more closer…"

The ghost kept getting closer and Sumiko was able to see her features. She had an Asian appearance; a nurse's hat on her head along with thick black hair that was tied in a chignon but Sumiko knew that the woman wasn't a native Japanese citizen. She was Claudia Yamashita, the Japanese-American nurse that died in the Okamoto Fire over six decades ago. The most startling feature that Claudia had was a huge bruise on her neck. The blemish stood out greatly on her snow-white skin and it looked like it was made by a pair of strangling hands…

The mark caught Sumiko off guard. If Claudia had burned to death in the Okamoto Fire, why was she strangled and who had killed her? Seeing her target distracted, Claudia's spirit suddenly disappeared and the flickering stopped and the hallway was plunged back into darkness and Sumiko's flashlight stopped working. With only the light present in the Viewfinder, Sumiko frantically scanned the area for Claudia Yamashita. The darkness of the orphanage creeped onto Sumiko, increasing the tension she felt.

When Sumiko turned to her right for what felt like the fiftieth time, the screaming face of Claudia Yamashita came barreling towards her, the young nurse's hands outstretched to grab her target. Sumiko gasped, too surprised to even scream and she dropped the Camera Obscura by accident. Claudia's gloved hands positioned themselves onto Sumiko's throat and Sumiko could look into the ghost's pale and frightening face. Claudia's irises were completely black and the whites of her eyes were spotted with deep red smudges of blood. Sumiko could only shake with horror as she struggled to fight off the Frightened Nurse.

Despite Claudia's paranormal grip, Sumiko was able to push her off and swiftly retrieve her Camera from the burned floor. Claudia recovered quickly and she immediately went after Sumiko again. A Shutter Chance appeared and Sumiko instantly took her chance. Claudia grabbed her face as she shrieked with pain. Another Shutter Chance appeared and Sumiko took it.

However, in the blink of an eye, Claudia disappeared before the Shutter Chance could even hit her. Strangely enough, as soon as Claudia disappeared, the lights stopped flickering and they stayed on. Stunned but wary by this development, Sumiko remained cautious. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and Sumiko could feel her heart palpitating with frightened anticipation. The glow from the gas lamps seemed to increase with intensity and the silence began to buzz in Sumiko's ears like a swarm of angry bees. Sumiko closed her eyes tightly and she concentrated as hard as she could to clear her mind and recollect her thoughts.

When she opened her eyes, Sumiko found herself plunged into darkness again.

"Huhhh…"

A breeze of cold breath prickled the skin on the nape of Sumiko's neck and her hair stood on end. Claudia was behind her. Just as Sumiko was about to turn around and face Claudia, the nurse suddenly teleported right in front of her and she wrapped her hands around Sumiko's throat. The force applied by Claudia was frightening, and Sumiko began to sputter and cough as her breathing became more strained. The situation was made worse by the return of the rapidly blinking lights, they were like strobe lights and it was disorienting Sumiko.

As adrenaline coursed through her, Sumiko began to flail wildly under Claudia's grasp in order to free herself. Her efforts paid off and Sumiko was able to manually push back Claudia, releasing her throat from the dead woman's grasp. The nurse let out a yelp of surprise as she stumbled backwards into the flickering hallway. Claudia soon melted into the shadows and all Sumiko heard was muffled weeping.

"How could this have happened…?"

Claudia's statement echoed softly into Sumiko's ears. Her instincts told her to turn around but another one told Sumiko to remain put and to look straight ahead with the Camera Obscura. Through the Viewfinder, Sumiko saw Claudia standing a few feet away down the hall. She just stared at Sumiko with her blood speckled, terrified eyes. She then quickly disappeared and Sumiko steeled herself for a powerful attack.

The flickering suddenly stopped and the lamps remained on, bathing the charred hall in amber colored light. The screaming face of the Terrified Nurse came sailing straight towards Sumiko at lightning speed.

"HELP ME!" Claudia shrieked as she lunged towards Sumiko.

A Shutter Chance appeared a split second before Claudia crashed into Sumiko and the latter instinctively pressed the button. The blast pushed Claudia back and another Shutter Chance finally did her in. The nurse collapsed onto her knees and she grabbed her face in her hands.

"That mirror… So many souls… So much despair… and anger…."

Claudia's words wafted through the still and once again, darkened hallway. Sumiko sighed with relief that the battle was over but she was still on edge. Claudia was a powerful ghost and Sumiko feared running into her again. She especially feared looking into those eyes that were spotted with blood and the absolute terror that filled them. She hated the idea that those eyes could be the last thing she would ever see if the Camera Obscura were to fail her.

Even though Kei Amakura had repaired the Camera, it was still a little buggy and Sumiko feared that it would break down on her when she needed it most. But for now anyway, it was working smoothly. Shining her flashlight down the hallway, Sumiko saw something lying on the floor where Claudia had faded away on. It was an old photograph and a scrap of paper. The photo showed three nurses holding suitcases in front of train in a train station that eerily resembled the one that Sumiko, Amaya and Anthony had taken earlier that day to get to town.

Sumiko recognized Claudia immediately in the middle of the photograph. Without her bruises and creepy eyes, she looked liked she was a sweet, albeit, very nervous looking person. She was slender and petite in comparison to her two American counterparts. The nurse on Claudia's left was Francine, the nurse she had seen walking down the hallway earlier. She looked very nice too, she had a sweet smile that swelled up her cheeks and gave them dimples.

The nurse to Claudia's right was obviously Gertrude Fairchild. Her pale hair was tied in a tight bun and she wore spectacles. She had a shy smile on her lips and her eyes were dark. Draped around her neck was a crucifix necklace, just as Hiromi Okamoto had described in her diary. Turning it over, Sumiko saw some writing made with pen ink saying;

" _Going to Hibiki-mura to the orphanage. Man stopped us to take our photograph. Wanted $10 for it! Worth it though…_

 _\- March 17, 1947"_

Undoubtedly seeing that these women were part of the Red Cross and were most likely American, the photographer had most likely flattered the women with some sweet words and after he took their picture, earnestly asked for their money. After the war, money was difficult to come by and people did whatever they could to get it to pay for their daily necessities and to move on from the surrender. Switching her attention from the photograph towards the paper scrap, Sumiko noticed that at the top left corner of the torn page was the date "6/5th". No year was given but Sumiko assumed it was from 1949. The writing was very neat and Sumiko read it with interest.

" _Ever since the first séance last night, Francine and I have been anxiously awaiting nightfall and after the children have been tucked in to perform the ritual again. Francine has this serene look on her face ever since she saw her husband David in the mirror. They talked and cried a little and she looks like she is finally at peace. She says she still misses him but she feels much better about it now. According to legend, any spirit spoken to in this mirror cannot be talked to again because the looking glass acts like a barrier to the underworld._

 _From what I gleaned from the notes, it's like a cork in a bottle, the mirror acting as a cork to keep the spirits in Yomi. Summoning a spirit makes the barrier thinner and it is noted several times that only one spirit at a time must be contacted and only one person can request for a summoning at a time. I wander what would happen if too many spirits show up in the mirror?"_

Sumiko gazed at that last line. Is that what had happened here in the orphanage? Too many spirits were summoned at once and they flooded in? If so, how did it happen and how did the fire occur? Sumiko resumed reading after she contemplated those theories.

" _Supposedly, a spirit that is contacted too much acts like a beacon to the others that the bridge between this world and the next is open, so it is imperative that one summoning be performed at a time and there can't be any repeat "customers." It used to be performed at a shrine called the Shrine of the Crossroads in Tokyo. Eerily enough, that shrine burned down forty years ago in a mysterious fire, claiming the life of its high priestess. Regardless of its creepy history, I still want to perform the ritual again. I want to see Bruce once more..._

 _I want to see if he is okay on the other side and tell our parents and little sister that everything is okay…_

 _Our family needs closure…"_

Sumiko felt a pang of sadness as she read that last line. It was so heartbreaking and yet, the weight of the mystery behind the woman's words tickled her curiosity. What was this "summoning ritual?" How was it performed and what the was the "Shrine of the Crossroads?" Was that Dark Priestess the high priestess that died in that fire as well and if so, how did that inferno occur?

It was a very strange and frightening coincidence that a fire destroyed both a shrine and an orphanage and that a mysterious mirror was present at both sites. Not to mention that they may have both occurred forty years apart as well. Sumiko made mental note to look up the name of the Shrine of the Crossroads tomorrow and she put away the diary entry and photograph in her right pocket. Resuming her journey to her original destination, the door down the left hallway, Sumiko walked down to it. When she got to the charred door, Sumiko was met once again with frustration.

The door, although unlocked, wouldn't budge. However, the movement seemed to trigger a wavering aura to hover over the door. In the frigid, paranormal air was a smaller magic circle that was similar to the one on the pristine door in the hallway but Sumiko got the feeling that this one wasn't as strong. Taking a picture of it, an image appeared in the Viewfinder. It was the hazy image of a glowing, pale child wearing a kimono traditionally worn by males.

The boy looked like he was looking down from a railing and behind him was the large window on the mezzanine above the main entrance. With a sense of purpose, Sumiko all but jogged towards the stairway, even leaping over the last two steps to reach the floor. Craning her neck up towards the mezzanine, Sumiko found the boy looking down at her. Taking his picture, Sumiko had a feeling that the door was now accessible. Turning around, she returned to the stairwell.

Just when she was a few steps away from the second floor, Sumiko heard a muffled sound coming from the door beneath the mezzanine. It was the one she couldn't open earlier and the noise was similar to someone screaming. It sounded like somebody was begging for help, and to make it worse, it sounded like a child's voice…

"Help me! Somebody please get me out of here! It's so hot and I can't breathe!"

The words hit Sumiko's heart like a hammer and she, hesitantly at first, ran back downstairs towards the door in an attempt to find a weakness in the door so she could break it down somehow and rescue the trapped child's spirit. However, upon touching the door, Sumiko immediately withdrew her hand. The wood was suddenly as hot as a lamp that had been left on for too long. The smell of smoke began to hit Sumiko's nose and she could actually see tiny billowing towers of it coming from below her vision. Looking down, Sumiko saw a pulsing orange light.

The shadows of two feet appeared in the light under the door. The doorknob began to turn and Sumiko flinched, backing away fearfully. Terrifyingly enough, the door began to open, releasing more smoke and fiery light. Sumiko ran up the stairs faster than she would have thought to be possible and she sprinted towards the now opened door. As she ran, she heard a deep female voice recite what sounded like a psalm.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…"

Sumiko grabbed the doorknob and she swiftly opened it, got into the room and slammed it behind her in one swift motion. Panting heavily, she came to the conclusion that had almost ran into Gertrude Fairchild's ghost. Her use of a Christian psalm was a dead giveaway. Collecting herself, Sumiko moved her flashlight around the room. The charred remnants of a brass bed-frame, the blackened metal frame of spring mattress still resting in the middle was at the middle of the left wall, the nightstand was still relatively intact but its drawers looked like they had been warped by the elements and on top of it was a lamp whose cover had been burned away and its light bulb gone (undoubtedly exploded from the heat of the fire).

There was a charred rug at the side of the bed and the flashlight revealed it may have been a lovely Persian carpet prior to its burning. There was a tansu (Japanese chiffarobe), a traditional mirror in the far right corner on a small set of drawers with a badly burned byobu (Japanese folding screen) partially surrounding it. The distorted face of a carp decorated the burned screen along with other features but those were unimportant to Sumiko at the moment. Besides another door undoubtedly leading to a bathroom, Sumiko saw the desk she had seen from the photo. Lying on top of the burned surface, shining in the light amongst a few piles of burnt paper and ash, was the key to the elevator.

Taking the key with satisfaction, Sumiko began to walk out of the bedroom. Just as she was walking past the foot of the bed, her sandaled foot stepped into what sounded like a puddle of some sort. Looking down with her flashlight, Sumiko found out what she had stepped in.

It was blood.

Sumiko let out a sharp gasp of fright and she backed away from the blood puddle, tracking sticky red footprints on the scorched floor. As terrified surprise came over her, a familiar sensation arrived into Sumiko's mind and she was transported back into the past once again. The sound of a door opening and a the sound of a strange noise stirred an individual from their sleep. The eyes fluttered open and a feeling of tension overcame the person. Even though she was looking through the eyes of a person, Sumiko could still control her own vision and she looked around.

The room was lovely even though it was in scratchy black and white. The covers of the bed were pulled off and Sumiko saw that she was looking through the eyes of a woman. She turned on her bedside lamp and put her feet in some small dark colored slippers before walking towards the bedroom door. The faint sounds of a struggle occurring in the main hallway could be heard through the door. Pressing her ear against the door, the woman and Sumiko thought they were hearing a choking sound that was eventually followed by dull thump on the floor.

Silence filled the air and it accentuated the ever growing feeling dread and tension. The woman, most likely the orphanage matron Sachiko Okamoto, could hear faint footsteps coming towards her door but she was unsure whether to open it to see what was going on or to lock it. Sachiko held her hand over the doorknob, contemplating her decision. Sumiko could feel the old woman's heart beat increasing and she could even see her hand shaking. The old woman changed her mind and she reached for the lock on her door.

Suddenly the knob was twisted and the door flew open. Sachiko jumped and she backed away as a nurse entered the room. It was Francine; still wearing her cloak and, carrying a knife in her hand. Through Sachiko's terrified eyes, Sumiko saw that Francine's eyes completely dark. Her irises were completely black and she was looking right at Sachiko. Malice and rage were dancing in the darkness of those possessed orbs.

"Francine-san… What is going on? What are you doing?"

The nurse didn't reply. She simply raised the knife in right hand and she ran towards Sachiko with surprising speed. The woman didn't even have a chance to defend herself, it happened that quick. Sachiko was knocked down to the floor and Francine stood over her before kneeling down and proceeding to stab her in the chest and neck. Sumiko tried to cover her ears, but she couldn't and she had to hear the sound of flesh being punctured and cut open with a knife.

Sachiko's strength was soon gone as her life began to bleed away. Francine's blade began to focus solely on her victim's neck before the horrific vision ended. Sumiko felt physically ill and she grabbed the soot covered brass bed frame to steady herself as she trembled. This was starting to get too much. Sumiko had already begun seeing one horrific thing one after another in rapid succession and she thought she couldn't bear another second of it.

"Where is it…"

The familiar voice of Sachiko entered Sumiko's ears and she froze.

"Where is it…" the voice repeated again, drawing out the words slowly and with a tone of growing desperation. Sumiko was scared to look behind her. She was terrified of seeing the wounds that she had witnessed Sachiko dying from.

"You took it didn't you…?"

The voice was louder and more concise. A cold breeze washed over Sumiko and she finally gave into to the temptation to turn around. Just a few inches from her face was the floating, decapitated head of Sachiko Okamoto. Her cheeks were slightly plump from age, long grey hair that gave her bodiless head an elongated appearance, her eyes were filled with fear and were wide open. Blood splatter decorated her neck, chin and jawline.

Sumiko screamed and she quickly backed away from the floating head. Just as she was backing away, Sachiko's headless body came sprinting out of the shadows towards her with arms outstretched. Sumiko let out a shriek and she managed to dodge the headless body in time. Frantically, Sumiko readied her Camera Obscura as Sachiko's body was rearing for another attack. As the body began to come into range, Sumiko took a picture of her.

The body was stunned but she didn't hurt at all. Before Sumiko could even try another tactic, Sachiko's screaming head came rushing towards her. Sumiko managed to take a Shutter Chance of her and it pushed the head back very far away from her. Apparently, the body could be stunned but not hurt, however the head could be hurt. Sachiko's body disappeared and reappeared at the left side of the bed and the head scooted by her former body's side.

Sumiko waited for Sachiko to get closer, however she noticed a problem. The Viewfinder wasn't charging. She was out of film. With dread and horror beginning to overcome her being, Sumiko took flight and made it to the door.

"Thief!" Sachiko cried out after Sumiko.

The key that Sumiko had gotten from the desk, which she had still been holding in her hand, fell from out of her left palm and onto the floor of the main hallway. The Headless Matron was swiftly approaching and Sumiko ran from her without picking up the key. As she ran towards the stairs leading downstairs, she saw another ghost on the mezzanine. It was Gertrude Fairchild. She turned around and her face transformed into something evil. Her eyes disappeared and became two black holes and her mouth hung agape with a scowling mouth and flames erupted from her body and she began to float on above the floor.

"Repent… Repent!" Sumiko could hear her say but she was running too quickly to hear the rest.

She made it down the stairs and was out through the door at speeds Sumiko didn't think she was capable of reaching. She kept running, only looking back once, until she reached the end of the old driveway at the foot of the hill. Panting and feeling as if her heart was going to beat out of her chest, Sumiko fell to her knees and then sat on the dirt. The sound of peepers and nocturnal insects comforted her and the cool lake breeze eased her sweaty and goose-bump ridden skin. To settle down further, Sumiko rested her head on her folded arms over her knees and she tried to block out what she had just witnessed that night…

* * *

 _Children were playing out in the backyard garden by a small weeping cherry tree. The traditional section of the orphanage was lovely but the young girl didn't take much notice of it. She still clung to her doll fearfully, nervous about meeting the other children._

 _"Why don't you go play with the other children here?" the young woman, Hiromi Okamoto, encouraged gently._

 _The girl went out as told but she did so sullenly. She stepped off of the veranda but instead of going up to any of the children, she went straight to the garden wall and she sank down on to the grass with her back facing it. Hiromi gave the girl a sad look and she proceeded to go check on some children who had discovered a small bird's nest at the corner of the garden wall. It was all too much for the young girl. She clutched her doll and she began to cry._

 _She felt so alone. She had just lost her mother, her home and everything she had except for her doll, was uprooted from one orphanage and placed in another one far away from the urban-space she grew up in. Surely the other children had gone through the same thing but the poor child was too nervous to speak to them. Some of the kids had looked at her as she came into the garden but none of them approached her. They were probably too nervous to talk to her due to her emotional state or they knew to give her some space since they had undoubtedly gone through the same thing as she was now._

 _But one child ventured towards the girl. She walked up to her and said, "Hi, what's your name?"_

 _The young girl looked up, sniffling to see a girl who appeared to be two years older than her. She had longer hair and was wearing a red kimono with a diamond design on it._

 _"Huh…?" the young girl replied, emotionally dazed._

 _"My name is Junko, Ohayashi, Junko. What is yours?"_

 _Junko held out her hand to the young girl. A glimmer of hope appeared in the girl's eyes and she held out her hand to Junko's. As Junko pulled her up, the girl spoke._

 _"Ume… Yoshida, Ume…_

* * *

 **Poor, poor Sumiko. She just can't catch a break can she? Those ghosts that have been introduced in this chapter are the Terrified Nurse, the Headless Matron and the Nurse Inquisitor. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I don't know when the next one will be up but stay tuned. Thank you for reading and** ** _please review! :)_**

 **PS: Just curious, but would any of you enter the Okamoto Orphanage on a dare? Hehehehe...**


	6. Chapter 5: Awakening Evil

**Sorry for the wait! I have been busy with family life and navigating through a college grad existence. Without further adieu, here is the fifth chapter. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

 _August 15, 1945 *****_

 _V-J Day (Victory over Japan)_

 _The moment the Japanese announced their surrender, the whole world cheered. Germany had surrendered on May 8_ _th_ _of that year and only Europe and most of the United States celebrated, but now, with the final belligerent force laying down its arms in defeat, the whole world let out a sigh of relief and it broke out with uproarious happiness and joy. Confetti rained down on Times Square in New York City upon cheering crowds, an anonymous man danced a jubilant gig in the streets of Sydney amongst the throngs of his fellow overjoyed Australians, ****** Londoners paraded about Trafalgar Square with arms linked and smiles abounding. Bars and pubs were filled to capacity and alcohol flowed like a river, increasing the joyous atmosphere even more. Church bells rang, mothers and fiancées cried with relief and younger mothers hugged their children and told them that at long last their fathers were coming home for good. Mirth and merriment flowed out of every home, street and business all over the world. _

_However, the joyous news wasn't always taken with complete saccharine reception. For some, the news came with a bittersweet taste. Widows smiled at first upon hearing the news before breaking down in tears, thinking of their lost husbands. Mothers and fathers thought of the sons that they would never see again or embrace and fatherless children looked on with sad envy as their peers spoke eagerly of their returning paternal figures. World War II was over, but the grief of losing a loved one would never end._

 _Francine Julie Moyer was rolling up bandages in an army hospital in San Diego, California when she heard the news about the surrender. She was happy of course but she was not as overjoyed as the rest of her coworkers were. They eagerly talked about their boyfriends, fiancés and husbands that would be returning home from overseas until Francine's friend Joyce elbowed one of the nurses and whispered in Pig Latin for them to stop talking about their menfolk within earshot of Francine. But she forgave them and continued on with her tasks, but she didn't have a smile like the patients and medical staff had. How could she smile?_

 _Her husband, her beloved David, died three years earlier in the humid jungles of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Killed by the Japanese Imperial Army. Her sentiments were not felt solely by her however. Onboard a medical ship heading towards the sparkling waters of Manila Bay in the Philippines, Claudia Yamashita was being hugged and kissed profusely by the wounded servicemen she was tending to. Their newfound energy made her happy but after her shift ended that night, she cried in the darkness of her cabin._

 _Claudia's older brother, Bruce Yamashita, had died during the Battle of Iwo Jima. He was only twenty-two years old. Bruce had joined the military when he turned eighteen in order to get out of the Japanese-American internment camp his family had been forced into by the United States Army. It was his way of proving himself to be a true, patriotic American and his efforts were rewarded with death. The Japanese-Americans were going to try and return to their pre-war lives but it was going to be hard._

 _Their businesses and homes had been taken from them though some were lucky to have a few sympathetic friends to watch over their properties while they were away. But nothing could heal the emotional wounds the Japanese-Americans suffered from the suspicions and betrayal they experienced at the hands of their own government. Claudia's family was now forced to rebuild their lives without their beloved son and older brother. Bruce had been the firstborn child of their parents, born three months after the couple had immigrated to the United States. Claudia's father had lost his heir and best friend, her mother her only son, Claudia lost her protector and confidant and her baby sister Ritsuko no longer had her big brother to carry her on his shoulders or to let her ride on his lap and help drive the tractor on their family farm in Fresno, California._

* * *

 _They could start over but with Bruce's death, it was as if they had lost everything all over again. Halfway across the world in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Gertrude Fairchild was hugging and crying with her two widowed daughters-in-law in the kitchen of her quaint New England home. Gertrude's two sons, Ellis and Richard, had both died during the D-Day campaign in Normandy, France the year before. Their deaths destroyed her world and the only thing that kept her going was the unborn grandchild that was being carried in the womb of Ellis's wife Doris at the time. After the child, a girl, was born, she was christened with the feminine version of her late father's name, Ellen._

 _Gertrude held her one year old granddaughter and hugged her tightly. Ellen was only thing she had left of Ellis. From Richard, she treasured his favorite lighter and his childhood baseball glove which was still in his childhood room, now kept as a shrine along with his older brother's. These three women, along with countless others, at least mourn with the comforts of America's newfound wealth and status as a world superpower. Germany and Japan had nothing. Their economies were wrecked, their cities were smoldering ruins and their populations were devastated._

 _The Germans were already trying to piece back together their lives from the shadow of the former Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler's madness while Japan was just beginning the process. From ruins to semi-intact houses, the Japanese assembled around a radio to listen to their Emperor tell them the heartbreaking news of their country's surrender. Some people looked on with stone faces but their eyes were inundated with sadness while others wept. A few even took their own lives rather than live with the shame of defeat while some soldiers began a brutal mass murder of American POWs in the prison camps in the Japanese countryside. After listening to the broadcast, Sachiko turned to the children who had assembled in the multipurpose room. Their faces were devoid of emotion._

 _Due to being so young, some of them didn't understand what was going on but a few of them knew. Sachiko didn't know what to do except tell them to go play but the children did so half-heartedly. Sachiko looked to her left to see that her niece Hiromi was gone. The young woman had left the room and had fled to her bedroom upstairs so that the children wouldn't see her crying. Her fiancé, Kenji Chikafuji, had died in the Battle of Okinawa in a futile attempt to stop the Americans advance._

 _Meanwhile, Sachiko watched as the children played in the garden. She thought of how she probably wouldn't be seeing her orphanage's caretaker, Shota Tsukuda, that day. The aged widower was probably at home listening to the grim news. The man had lost all three of his sons and just like Gertrude Fairchild, he had only one grandchild from one of his dead children, a small grandson whom he loved dearly. Wherever anyone was in Japan that day, there wasn't a smile to be found._

 _Alcohol was being poured but it was only to dull the pain, mothers and fiancées cried for their losses, and younger mothers hugged their children for an entirely different reason. There were no church bells to ring, except for the few Roman Catholic churches in Nagasaki and the other great cities of Japan. There was no dancing or singing. Soldiers came home to devastation and disappointment. While the Allied world cheered, the former Axis powers mourned silently._

 _It was a new era._

 _And it was born through the blood and sacrifices of countless soldiers and civilians during those harrowing six years of the Second World War…_

… _.._

Sumiko's dreams were plagued with dark and disturbing images and to add to their eeriness was that the nightmare appeared in black and white. Distorted black forms were flowing out of a mirror and four figures stared in horror as screaming paranormal faces came flying towards them. Sumiko could make out three of the figures appeared to be the nurses from the night before and there were two children. It was hard to see but Sumiko thought that the child kneeling before the mirror looked like Purple Kimono and the other one, Sumiko could not see her face. All five of them were completely terrified of what was happening.

After the ghastly screaming had stopped, the door to the room was open and the nurses each began to slink away towards it. Hands were wrapped around Claudia's neck and she struggled under the grip but to no avail. She fell at a nurse's feet with a familiar thump on the hardwood floor. A knife was pulled out of a sheath strapped under her uniform's belt and Francine made her way down the hallway. A spark from a lighter ignited in somebody's hand and an inferno began to engulf the orphanage. A shadowy figure resembling the Dark Priestess was down the hallway observing the carnage…

Sumiko awoke with a start and covered in sweat. Being rolled up in her sleeping bag felt like being wrapped in a giant kotatsu (traditional Japanese heater), so Sumiko removed herself from it immediately. A soft light lit up the interior of her tent and Sumiko got the feeling that it was early in the morning. Reaching for her phone, Sumiko noticed that her hand was unsteady. It was shaking and she got flasbacks from the night before.

Doing her best to block the unpleasant sights, Sumiko lunged her hand towards her phone and she grabbed it. Pressing the main button revealed that it was approximately 7:30 in the morning. She was surprised. Considering what had happened the night before, Sumiko thought she would have slept in longer. She tried sleeping again but it only succeeded for a few minutes at different intervals before she gave up on going back to sleep for good permanently.

Just as she was about to unzip her tent's entrance, Sumiko realized that she had slept in the clothes she had worn yesterday and last night. Disgusted, she immediately changed out of them and into a red T-shirt with the golden outline of an Asian dragon stenciled on it along with some random shapes and kanji along with a pair of black shorts. After getting dressed, Sumiko unzipped her tent and she went out into campground. Golden sunlight pierced through the trees and leaves of the woods, casting dappled shadows on the grass and tents as birds sang their morning songs. Just behind the tents was a stream that added to the serenity. It was a scene worthy of a postcard.

Hearing the gentle snoring of Anthony, Sumiko safely assumed that both he and Amaya were still fast asleep and Sumiko went out for a walk. The other campgrounds were sound asleep and Sumiko could hear a few people snoring and even saw a jogger stepping out of a camper and preparing for a morning run. The air felt wonderfully cool but as the day would ware on, it would get hotter and Sumiko hoped that they would all go swimming today. The town of Hibiki-mura was quiet as a tomb save for a few people setting up their shops or preparing the boats and jet skis at the rental place by the docks. Sumiko walked down to the docks to look over the beautiful Kappa Lake.

Sunlight graced the smooth and still, mirror like surface as the water gently lapped against the dock's support columns. Its serenity seemed to ease away Sumiko's tension from the night before and she took a deep breath and exhaled with calm relief.

"Is that you Ms. Yamada?"

A familiar voice called to her and Sumiko looked behind her to see Naeko Onda. After seeing that it was Sumiko, Naeko began walking towards her on the dock. The young miko was wearing her traditional robes and she was carrying two plastic grocery bags containing from what Sumiko could see was a bag of rice, a carton of milk, sweet potatoes and containers of adzuki beans.

"Good morning Naeko. Doing some early morning grocery shopping?"

Naeko looked at her bags and she smiled.

"Good morning to you too Sumiko. Yes I am. A half hour ago a priestess from Nara called saying that she will be coming to observe the Moon-Run this year. My brother offered to have her stay with us so I went to buy some ingredients to make some snacks for her when she arrives. My family says I make the best karukan (sponge cake like treat made with rice, sweet potatoes and adzuki beans) and my brother Takafumi wants me to make some for our guest when she comes here tomorrow. "

"That's nice." Sumiko said, "What are you going to do for today though? Any plans?"

"Well, just the usual… chores around the shrine and helping visitors with their prayers and collecting the donations at the end of the day. " Naeko said.

"Aren't you preparing for the Moon Run as well?" Sumiko asked.

"There is not much to prepare for that. The township creates the flyers for us, we mark the start line and we just have volunteers on standby around the loop to hand out cups of water to the runners and to cheer them on during the event." Naeko said.

The young miko looked at the bags she was holding and when she saw the carton of milk, she began to take her leave.

"It was nice talking to you Ms. Yamada, but I have to get back to my house and put these away and get my day started too."

"It was nice talking to you too Naeko." Sumiko said. "And you can call me Sumiko by the way."

Naeko gave Sumiko a sweet smile, bowed and said thank you as she turned away. As she began to walk off, Sumiko thought she heard Naeko singing a song. Turning around, she heard the first lyrics that came out of the priestess's mouth.

 _"Firefly, firefly_

 _Lantern of the night_

 _Your light shines so bright_

 _Glorious as cherry blossoms_

 _Short lived as they..."_

It was the same song that Purple Kimono had told Sumiko about the night before! Surprised, Sumiko listened more carefully to Naeko and she began to walk up to her in order to hear more of the lyrics.

 _"Firefly, firefly_

 _Living starlight_

 _Light up the darkened sky_

 _Glorious as cherry blossoms_

 _Short lived as they..."_

"Excuse me, Naeko!" Sumiko called out to her. Naeko stopped singing to turn around to face Sumiko again.

"That song you are singing, is that " _Hotaru, Hotaru?"_ Sumiko asked.

"Yes it is. How do you know about it? Not many people outside of Hibiki-mura know that song."

"I heard it last night…" Sumiko said, blotting out a memory of the Dark Priestess and the other ghosts that she encountered last night. "What is that song about anyway?"

"I can tell you about it, but can we walk as well?"

Sumiko agreed and the two began to walk together and talk.

"The song was written by an ancestor of mine named Miyoko Onda. She was a priestess of the Hibiki-Tsukuyomi Shrine during the early Edo period and she wrote the song sometime during the early 17th century. Legend has it that she was inspired to write the song after witnessing a spectacular display of fireflies one summer evening at the shrine. The song is supposedly about the beauty of life and death and, this gets a little freaky, but would you like to hear the other reason why Miyoko wrote the song?" Naeko said.

"Sure." Sumiko said.

"Miyoko had a twin brother who died suddenly from what sounded like a massive heart attack according to some old records. He was fine one minute and then he collapsed suddenly the next. Because they were young and the two were so close together, Miyoko believed that the beauty of the fireflies was her brother's way of showing that his spirit was okay."

"That's beautiful…" Sumiko said wistfully, "So what's the freaky part?"

"I think Miyoko and her brother were more than just twin siblings. I think they were also in love with each other. The way she wrote the song, it seems to have a hint of romance in it don't you think?" Naeko asked. Upon seeing Sumiko's disturbed expression to Naeko's incestuous theory caused the young miko to chuckle nervously, "Then again, maybe I have been reading too much _Vampire Knight_!" *******

"I can see that…" Sumiko said, desperately wanting to change the subject. "Speaking of _Hotaru, Hotaru,_ how does the rest of the song go?" She asked.

Just as Naeko began to sing again, something happened. She suddenly stopped walking and her posture began to falter and sway like a moored boat on waves. Sumiko looked on with alarm as Naeko's eyes became unfocused and she grabbed her forehead with her left hand. Without warning, Naeko fell to her knees clutching her throat. Sumiko immediately went down on hers to check on the miko.

"Are you okay!?" Sumiko asked with an alarmed tone.

"I… I don't know. I was fine and all of a sudden I felt so light headed… When I tried to sing, my throat clamped shut and I couldn't breath."

Naeko's then suddenly complexion began to change for the better.

"Hey, I feel better now…"

"Need help standing up?" Sumiko asked but Naeko shook her head.

"No thank you, I can do it."

Naeko then effortlessly got back up on her feet. She had a confused and haunted look on her face.

"Miss Yamada, I mean, Sumiko?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't ask me to sing "Hotaru, Hotaru" again. I get the feeling that singing that is what caused me to collapse."

Sumiko felt a creeping buildup of fear filling her being.

"What makes you so sure about that?" She asked gently.

"I don't know… It definitely wasn't heat stroke, its still early in the morning and it is not that hot yet. I just have this feeling and I do not like it…"

Naeko gave Sumiko an odd look.

"Thank you for helping me. I've really got to go back now. Have a nice day…"

Naeko bowed and she hurried off towards the stairs that led up to the dirt path that led back to her home by the shrine. Sumiko watched her go, feeling disturbed by what she had just witnessed. She didn't feel the level of eeriness that Naeko had felt however. The young miko had left out one particular symptom that she had felt during her "attack." Naeko had felt the sensation of a hand closing on her throat to prevent her from singing.

Not knowing what else to do, Sumiko decided to walk back to the Hinsansho Forest Campground. After walking out of town and going past the camp trailers, Sumiko saw Amaya and Anthony coming down the road. They in turn saw her and they waved to her.

"There you are Sumi! How are you?" Amaya asked.

"Good morning Sumiko, taking an early walk?" Anthony said.

"Yeah, I was." Sumiko replied and she stopped to talk with her friends, "Where are you guys going?"

"To find a grocery store or convenience store to get food and stuff." Amaya said and her boyfriend chimed in after her.

"Yeah, how does having eggs and bacon cooked over a campfire sound to you Sumiko?"

"Sounds nice." Sumiko said and then she yawned. "Okay, I think I will try and snooze for a little bit longer. I'll see you guys back at camp."

After bidding farewell to each other, Sumiko resumed her journey back to camp. After reaching her tent and crawling into her sleeping bag despite the growing heat, Sumiko fell right back to sleep. After what felt like a blessed eternity of blissful sleep that was free of ghostly nightmares, Sumiko was awakened by someone gently touching the tip of her nose. As her eyes fluttered, two cloudy shapes began to appear before Sumiko's awakening conscious. The forms consisted of two snow-white faces, one with short black hair and the other with long hair.

When Sumiko fully opened her eyes, she immediately saw what she was looking at. One of the girls was Purple Kimono from last night and there was another girl with her who looked to be around the same age as her. Her bangs were held back by two white hairpins shaped like lilies and her skin was so pale that it looked like it was made of paper. Sumiko held her breath, too surprised and frightened to do anything. She didn't know why two ghost girls were in her tent, how they found her or what they wanted but Sumiko got the feeling that these girls were not ghosts to be frightened of.

The dark eyes of the two girls simply stared at Sumiko's widened ones before Purple Kimono spoke.

"Are you coming back tonight?" the girl whispered.

"Yeah… I was thinking about it." Sumiko said. She wanted to return but she still felt hammering pangs of fear ever since her paranormal encounters from last night. "Why? What do you want me to do?"

Without moving her gaze, Purple Kimono continued to speak.

"My friend here," she gestured with a tilt of her head to her left, "Chiharu, has something for you."

The girl with the white hairpins, Chiharu, had an unflinching, undead gaze as well and her dark eyes locked on Sumiko's just like her friend Purple Kimono.

"You dropped Okamoto-sama's elevator key last night. I can get it back for you, but first you have to do something for me…"

"What do I have to do?" Sumiko asked.

"Sumi…" a distant voice called out. The ghost girls began to falter and Sumiko couldn't hear what Chiharu was saying. Sumiko tried to focus on the voice but she could only catch one word;

"Doll."

"Hey Sumiko!"

Sumiko stirred as she felt Amaya shaking her ankle and calf. Awaking from her nap, Sumiko saw her friend crouched in front the now open tent and her right hand was clutching her ankle. Amaya smiled when she saw Sumiko look at her.

"Rise and shine again, Sumi! Anthony is going to make us a breakfast of champions before we go swimming today. Hope you have room leftover after last night!"

The night before, Anthony had prepared a dinner of hot dogs roasted over a fire along with an American campfire dessert called S'mores. Anthony showed his girlfriend and Sumiko how to make them by first inserting a marshmallow on a stick and then letting it hover over the fire. After the confection develops a semi crunchy black and white exterior, Anthony then wiped the melted, gooey thing onto a graham cracker and then placed a row of chocolate and covered that with another cracker piece. Both Sumiko and Amaya found the rich treat to be quite delectable and the group spent the whole night making S'mores.

Anthony was a wonderful chef and Sumiko couldn't wait to try what else he was going to make. He couldn't get too much food from his base's commissary due to their rather exorbitant prices but no one in the group was concerned. They agreed to pool in money when necessary and they each agreed on the nights when they would cook. And this morning, Anthony was going to prepare breakfast. Sumiko awoke from her nap and she groggily crawled out of her tent just as Anthony was laying down a flat metal board over their campfire.

* * *

After a hearty breakfast of eggs and bacon, the group got ready for their day on Lake Kappa. They rented a boat and Anthony drove them out towards a rather isolated part of the lake on its eastern shore. Upon dropping the anchor, everyone onboard the boat jumped into the water. The water was pleasantly cool and it was refreshing in comparison to the summer heat. With the rented boat filled with gas and their cooler loaded to the brim with ice and chilled drinks, the trio spent most of the day out on the lake.

During one break from swimming, Anthony was lounging on the driver's seat of the boat while Amaya and Sumiko were talking. He then turned around on the hot plastic seat so he could gaze at the sun-dappled surface of the lake. Anthony found the soft rhythm of the lake waves and moving sunlight to be enchanting and he droned out Amaya and Sumiko's conversation. As he watched the reflections, Anthony noticed something strange. Some of the shimmering forms of light on the rippling water began to take shape.

Upon closer inspection, Anthony noticed that the shape looked like a face. Blinking in disbelief, Anthony looked down at the water's surface again to see if he was dreaming. He wasn't, there was clearly a face staring back at him from the water. Two black, empty black spaces for eyes and a frowning mouth formed and angry visage that caused goose-bumps to break out all over the young man's skin. Wanting to get rid of the glowering face, Anthony picked up a small pebble from underneath the dashboard and dropped it directly between the ghostly reflection's eyes.

The water rippled, but the face remained. Completely unnerved now, Anthony reached for his iphone and he quietly snapped a picture of the bizarre phenomenon. When he looked at the newly captured image, he was astonished to discover that there wasn't a face. As he looked back down towards the water's surface again, a sickly pale figure wearing drenched clothes suddenly jumped out from under the water towards Anthony. The attack was sudden but Anthony's stunned mind was able to take in the details of his attacker's face.

It was a late-middle aged man with salt and pepper hair, bloodshot eyes and sickly light grey skin. The man possessed a look of hatred towards Anthony and his face was the perfect carbon copy of the scowling face in the water. As the man's hands grabbed his target's shoulders, Anthony's mind suddenly began to play forth a series of disturbing images:

A family altar with the photo of a middle aged woman, then one at a time, three photos of young men wearing military uniforms appeared; two wore Imperial Japanese Army and one wearing a Navy outfit. Candles burned as a cloud of incense wafted from an ash filled receptacle before the photos. A man in a dark colored kimono wept silently to himself, his face buried in his hands.

A mass of pale flames destroys a large building.

The same man, his face never seen, walks along the shoreline in good clothes. He picks up several stones from the sand and puts them in his pockets.

The man then resolutely walked into the water…

Bubbles ascend to the surface and pop and then the lake's surface becomes silent once again.

Two men from a boat pick up a corpse floating in the water. His clothes are soaked and look familiar…

Before the "Drowned Man" could do any harm to Anthony's shoulders, a sudden flash of light appeared from the cup-holder on the dashboard. It was from Anthony's omamori amulet, he had become very fond it and had placed it in the cup-holder to protect the boat and its passengers during their recreational outing. The old man let out a hiss of surprise that had an otherworldly echo to it. Just as suddenly as he had emerged from his watery grave, the Drowned Man vanished. Anthony fell out of his chair in fright.

Both Sumiko and Amaya had seen something emerge from the water at the corner of their eyes and had heard a splash but they didn't see anything. All they saw was a trembling, pallid and sweating Anthony sitting on the floor of the boat.

"Anthony are you okay?" Amaya asked in alarm. Both women ran to him as the trembling man attempted to speak.

"There was… was…" Anthony stuttered. He was too terrified to even speak normally.

"Anthony what was it?" Sumiko asked. She swore that the blurry figure she had seen at the corner of her eye resembled a man. The thought that there was a ghost outside of the confines of the orphanage caused Sumiko's heart to beat rapidly.

"It was a large carp!" Anthony blurted out. His girlfriend gave him an odd look.

"A carp jumped out that high?"

"Yes it did. It scared me." Anthony said and nodded in rapid succession. He didn't want Amaya nor Sumiko to pry any further and he desperately wanted to leave.

"How about we go back now? We are all got a lot of color today from the sun."

As the women muttered out awkward approvals, Anthony jumped back onto the driver's seat, turned on the boat motor and all but sped out from the spot. Anthony settled down when everyone returned to camp and took a shower at a public shower house. He refused to speak more about the incident and the women decided to respect his wishes. But the event still bothered Sumiko. She wondered if she had really seen a man jump out of the water and what that sudden flash of light was.

Unbeknownst to her, Amaya was thinking the exact same thing. After nightfall had come and when she was sure that Amaya and Anthony were fast asleep, Sumiko silently left her tent with her Camera Obscura. As she walked away from the campsite, the zipper on the couple's tent began to move. Anthony couldn't sleep since his dreams were plagued by freakish nightmares of being trapped underwater and the Drowned Man coming after him. After opening his tent, Anthony crawled out and he caught a glimpse of Sumiko walking off into the darkness.

Before he could call out to her, Anthony realized that there other campers not too far their area and he didn't want to wake them nor Amaya. He wanted to follow Sumiko but he was hesitant to leave Amaya. Japan was a very safe country but Anthony still didn't feel okay to leave his girlfriend in the tent alone. She sometimes moved in her sleep and she would wrap her arm around him and snuggle with him as they slept. She would be very surprised to find the sleeping bag next to her empty if he had gone.

Deciding to stay, Anthony went back into his tent, his thoughts spinning with the bizarre events of the day and wandering what it all meant…

* * *

 ***= The Japanese officially surrendered on September 2, 1945 on the deck of the USS Missouri. General Douglas MacArthur had the flag that Commodore Mathew Perry had flown when his "Black Ships" arrived to Japan over ninety years earlier framed and displayed on the ship for the Japanese delegation to see. It may have been way to show that without the Americans, the Japanese would have never left their feudal era state and that they were once again going to be "helped" by the Americans.  
**

 ****=** **The "Dancing Man" is an iconic historical piece of film footage that is very dear to the Australian populace. The look of joy on that man's face, including the other people in the street, is quite infectious.**

 *****= A manga and anime series that has ridiculously handsome vampires (of course). The series details how "Pure-Blood" Vampires preserve their purity with sibling marriages. The main character Yuuki Cross aka Kuran, is the result of such a marriage.**

 **The plot is thickening! The backstory of the Drowned Man is very sad and will be explained later. Then again, the ghosts in the Okamoto Orphanage have very tragic pasts due to the Second World War. They had lost loved ones and their normal lives to a massive international conflict and were left to cope with the aftermath of the surrender with lingering feelings of grief and simmering hatred... But now, Japan and Germany are doing well and have successfully pulled themselves out of the ashes of the war.**

 **Anyway, thank you for reading and _please review! :)_**


	7. Chapter 6: Doll

_**Happy New Year everyone! Sorry for the very late posting. I have been busy and I had the usual writer's block. Anyway, here is the new chapter. What horrors and mysteries will Sumiko uncover in the orphanage tonight? Your patience shall be richly rewarded!**_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _**Profanity and disturbing scenery ahead.**_

* * *

" _She's so pretty!" Ume said as she looked at the doll that was being shown to her. The doll possessed porcelain skin with a light pink blush tinted on her cheeks, red lips and unseeing glass blue eyes. A dark blue cloche hat obscured her short hair, with only two ginger curls resting against the cheeks. She wore a coat that shared the same color as her hat that covered an immaculate white dress and the doll's feet were encased in white socks and Mary Jane shoes._

 _"Where did you get her from?" Junko inquired as she looked over the doll's Western features. Chiharu, the girl who was showing off the doll smiled proudly at the question._

 _"She used to be my mother's when she was a girl. She got the doll when she was six years old through some special event that the Americans hosted. Her name is Angelica and my mother said that she came with a passport that described where in America she was from."_

 _"Is she from one of the states that the nurses are from?" Ume asked Chiharu curiously. Chiharu shook her head._

 _"I don't remember," she said. "My mother would have though…"_

 _Chiharu trailed off as the unpleasant weight of her loss began to haunt her eight year old being. Memories of the shrill sound of the air raid sirens thundering across Tokyo that March night when the B-29 Superfortress bombers came. The chaos in the streets, the fire, the smoke, the screaming, it was hard to forget such things. Her mother had been carrying her throughout this entire ordeal, suffering from the sweltering heat of the firestorm and getting jostled roughly by the terrified crowds. The bomb shelters in their neighborhood were full to capacity, so mother and daughter sought shelter in a canal with dozens of other refugees as well._

 _But the canal became another threat to the Japanese, as the Sumida River swelled with the rising tide. Chiharu could still remember bobbing up and down, the intervals between of being able to breathe and being submerged growing bigger and bigger. Closing her eyes tightly, Chiharu begged the gods to release her and her mother from that living nightmare of black water and raging fire. From what she remembered next, her mother shouted to somebody who was helplessly witnessing the spectacle from a dock. Before the little girl knew it, her mother handed her to the person, and Chiharu never saw her mother again…_

 _The man who her mother had placed Chiharu's salvation in was a soldier. He was a kind man and he took the girl under his wing and into safety. They waited out the firebombing in an abandoned warehouse further up the dock, where the soldier asked Chiharu questions about herself to distract her from her terror, and how the screaming from the canal had gradually quieted down into an unsettling silence… The next day, Chiharu guided the soldier back to the charred ruins of her home. In the crawlspace that was beneath what had once been the Gato family's main room, the soldier dug up a box. Inside that box was Angelica._

 _The doll was all that Chiharu Gato had left of her mother, and of the life she once had before the firestorm…_

 _"That's a nice doll you got there Chiharu!"_

 _The familiar and friendly voice brought the now eight year old girl out from the fog of her dark wartime memories and back into the present. The voice belonged to Francine Moyer, one of the American nurses who been working at the orphanage for two years now. Accompanying her was her fellow nurse and friend, Claudia Yamashita. They had both returned from their trip into the city to buy some supplies for the orphanage. Mrs. Moyer was carrying a round object that was around the size of a medium sized watermelon and it was wrapped in red cloth which she held close to her chest and it looked a little heavy._

 _"Mind if we sit down and take a closer look at your doll?" Francine asked nicely, bearing a pearly grin. Chiharu agreed, and the two women joined the girls. Both nurses were wonderful with the children. Francine was well-loved for her humor and playfulness. She was able to engage with the children and they often spoke to her and told her about themselves, including their bad memories related to the war. Francine wasn't always cheerful however._

 _Some children had seen Francine sometimes looking out of a window sadly or down at her gold wedding band, which she would turn slightly around on her left ring finger. Whenever she did that, her face looked especially down and some of the kids claimed to have seen her cry as she gazed at the special piece of jewelry. Junko and Ume could remember when Tetsuya pointed out the ring and asked her why she turned it around. Francine became so quiet and that was when the children learned that she was a widow and that her husband had died in action… Some of the children who had male relatives serving in the Pacific during the war couldn't help but wander if it was their father or uncle who had killed Mr. Moyer for the good of the Japanese Empire in the humid jungles of Guadalcanal._

 _Claudia was a nice person too, but she was quieter than Francine. She usually acted as a translator for the other nurse, Gertrude Fairchild, and she helped both nurses with Japanese culture thanks to being a second generation Japanese-American citizen, or "Nissei" ***** as they were called. Ms. Yamashita was in fact related to the Okamoto's since the children had overheard Ms. Hiromi call Claudia her "cousin" a few times. When they asked if Claudia was truly her cousin, Hiromi said yes and explained that Claudia was the daughter of her aunt's first cousin who had moved to America many decades earlier. Due to sharing Sachiko's grandparents as their great-grandparents, Claudia and Hiromi were in fact second cousins. _

_Gertrude was friendly, but she was also strict and a little strange. She spoke very little Japanese and she required Claudia's services to help get her messages across to the children and the Okamoto's and she always wore that crucifix around her neck. None of the children understood the significance of the holy jewelry, even after Claudia tried to explain it to them. Some of the children had seen her hold it and whisper something in English to it before kissing it reverently. The children also noticed that Gertrude often butted heads with Claudia over subjects they couldn't understand due to it being said in English._

 _Last year during the Obon Festival, the children noticed a particularly heated discussion being held between Gertrude and Claudia. Whatever Gertrude was saying was making Claudia angrier and angrier until she struck the older nurse on her chest with a backhand strike from her right hand. Junko and Ume had witnessed this along with Kazuo and Daisuke and all four of them were shocked on how Ms. Yamashita treated Ms. Fairchild. To them, Ms. Fairchild's opinion was to be respected since she was a senior regardless what her opinion was and they wandered why Americans were taught to be disrespectful to their elders. The women settled down when they noticed the children spying on them and they offered to play games with them in order to take their minds off of the argument that had just occurred._

 _Speaking of which, Gertrude was currently tending to the other children with Hiromi. The three girls hadn't seen the old woman for most of the day. It didn't bother them since they found her to be to be a bizarre._

" _Very pretty…" Francine said as she gently touched Angelica's porcelain cheek and fingered her shimmering ginger curls. She then looked up towards Chiharu. "Where did you get this doll?"_

 _When Chiharu told the nurses where her mother had gotten the doll, Francine's eyes widened with surprise._

" _Really? This doll was from that… uh…" Francine stumbled over what to substitute for the word program in Japanese. She turned to Claudia and spoke to her in English._

" _How do you say exchange in Japanese?"_

" _Kokan." Claudia replied and Francine finished the sentence with gusto._

" _Did you have a doll like this too Francine-sama?" Chiharu asked._

" _I did while growing up, but I did know someone in my elementary school who had a Japanese doll from that same doll exchange over twenty years ago. It was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen…"_

 _Francine could remember one day when she was a first grader when the school principle called all of the elementary students into the assembly room to show off the Friendship Doll from Japan. Her name was Miss Tokyo, and she was the size of a three year old with silky black hair, a peaceful and chubby cheeked face, and most striking of all, the kimono that Miss Tokyo wore. It was made of silk that was dyed with the lightest tone of pink and it was decorated with cherry tree branches that were overflowing with white blossoms and their gently falling petals. After showing off the doll, the principle then proudly revealed Miss Tokyo's set of traditional Japanese drawers, mirror stand, teapot and cups, and other small accessories that could outdo any dollhouse set made in the United States. Francine was enthralled by the beauty of the doll and years later, when she returned to her elementary school for her niece's school pageant to sell war bonds, Francine was saddened to learn that the principle had Miss Tokyo's porcelain body smashed and her clothes burned in the school's furnace due to the US government ordering the destruction of the dolls that year in 1943._

 _Miss Tokyo had been such a beautiful thing, she didn't deserved to be destroyed simply because she came from Japan. Chiharu's mother had obviously felt the same thing when she hid Angelica in the crawlspace beneath her house. It was tragic how these Friendship Dolls had originally come to spread a message of peace and goodwill amongst the citizens of America and Japan, and in the end, they became the "enemy" when the US declared war on the Japanese Empire. Japanese schoolchildren would use the "Blue-Eyed Dolls" for bayonet practice or burned them in bonfires while the Americans did the same to the Japanese ones as well. It was such a tragic situation, but nothing could be done about it now…_

 _"Francine, why don't you show the girls what you bought from Tokyo today? Claudia said to her friend._

 _"That's right! Thanks for reminding me Claudia."_

 _Francine turned to the enshrouded object she had laid beside her and she began to undo the cloth wrapping. Junko, Ume, and Chiharu leaned in to get a closer look at what Mrs. Moyer's purchase was. Sunlight reflected off of the polished surface of the item and it blinded the three girls. After their sight had recovered, Ume, Junko, and Chiharu saw that the object was a magnificent bronze mirror. It was polished so well, that the metal shined like clean glass and it was able to reflect the three girls, Angelica, and the room perfectly._

 _Suspended in front of the mirror was a cord made from deep crimson silk that was tied into a knot with two tassels dangling in front of it. Francine smiled when she saw how curious the girls were about the lovely mirror._

 _"You three like it? Here, take a look at what's on the back of it…"_

 _Francine then turned the mirror around and the girls awe grew when they saw the back. The deep jade colored bronze was embossed with two tall figures with long wild hair and clothes dating from one of Japan's ancient eras. Despite the red cord obscuring the middle of the mirror; it was fed through a knob in the very center of the object, the girls could make out the details of the metal carving. The figure on the right was a man with a long beard who was looking over his shoulder and he appeared to be running away from the woman on the left side of the mirror._

 _The woman looked like a skeleton and her eyes appeared to bulge out of their sockets. She also appeared to be very angry and her left index finger was pointed towards the fleeing man and swarm of frightening demons were behind her and going after the man. It was such a beautiful thing that the girls couldn't help but comment on it._

 _"That is so pretty!" Ume exclaimed._

 _"Where did you get it from?" Chiharu asked._

 _"Why does it have a rope tied around it?" Junko asked as she scrutinized the cord. Francine considered the cord._

 _"The girl who I bought this from told me that this mirror is very special. Supposedly, you can contact the dead with it…"_

 _All three of the girls looked terrified when Francine mentioned the supposed power of the mirror. They were terrified of the idea of seeing a ghost in the mirror. But deep down, they were curious and they wandered if they could talk to loved ones who were lost during the war…_

 _"How does it work?" Ume asked._

 _"I don't know," Francine said, "the girl we bought it from didn't know how it worked. She said that the method to contacting the spirit world was lost in a fire over forty years ago…"_

 _"I think I can find something though." Claudia said. "I can telephone the base in Tokyo. I know a janitor there who lives around that same area the girl claimed she lived in. I can ask him if he knows anything about this mirror and a fire from four decades ago…"_

 _The door to the multipurpose room opened and a man in his sixties appeared in the doorway. He was looking at the nurses._

 _"Somebody is here to see the children…"_

… _.._

The sound of the old charred door opening filled the lobby with the terrible screeching of its hinges. Sumiko had tried to open it as gently as possible but it was a futile effort. She looked over the partially opened door to make sure there wasn't a phantom trying to ambush her as she came in. When she didn't see anything resembling a ghost, Sumiko opened the door even further and cautiously entered. The lobby was just as dark and quiet as it was the night before and Sumiko didn't see anything out of place as she shined her flashlight about the decrepit room.

"Psst…"

The sharp sound startled Sumiko and she looked around frantically for the origin of the noise.

"Psst… Up here!"

The voice belonged to a child, and it was familiar one as well. Sumiko remembered it from the girl that Purple Kimono had introduced as Chiharu from her ghostly visitation that morning. Looking up, Sumiko saw the top of black haired head disappearing down the hall from the mezzanine railing; the shuffling of small feet was also heard echoing from the hallway above. Sumiko quickly went up the stairwell to catch up to the spirit, but when she got up to the second floor, she didn't see the girl. Just as Sumiko was preparing to go down the hall, the voice spoke up.

"Over here…"

The voice sounded very close now. Sumiko heard the voice louder in her left ear, so she turned around and she came face to face with a charred door. It was the same one she heard a child begging not to die the night before…

"Chiharu?" Sumiko asked tentatively as she approached the door.

"That's me." A small voice responded, "Thank you for coming…"

Sumiko was silent for a moment as she pondered on what to say next. She remembered that Chiharu's spirit had said the word doll during her and Purple Kimono's visit to Sumiko's tent earlier that morning. With this in mind, Sumiko came up with a question to ask the ghost behind the door.

"Chiharu," Sumiko began, "My friend was waking me up when you trying to explain what you me to do for you. I only remember you saying the word doll. Did you lose it somewhere here in the orphanage before the…"

Sumiko trailed off before she could say fire. Even without saying it, the word had a significant weight to it. Sumiko could feel the charred ruins of the orphanage close in around her as she thought about what had happened to the building and its unfortunate inhabitants over six decades ago. It was so sad. After a moment of silence, Chiharu's voice spoke up again.

"My doll is in the nurses room downstairs." Chiharu's tone seemed flat and sad. Sumiko didn't know if it was either because of almost mentioning the fire or the fact that her favorite toy was probably hidden somewhere in that room and she hadn't been able to get to it for some reason. Sumiko felt a chill go up her spine and she hugged her chest to keep warm. It already felt cool in the ruin but now it seemed to get even colder.

"Oh… She's looking at you now." Chiharu said suddenly.

The statement took Sumiko by surprise.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her breath coming out in clouds and feeling more than a little spooked at the moment.

"Look down the hall."

Nervously, Sumiko turned her head towards her right. At the corner of her eye, she saw a pale, tall and lean figure down the hall right in front of the elevator. Before she could get a better look at the figure, it suddenly darted to the right at lightning speed. Sumiko gasped when she saw that.

"Who was that?"

"My doll Angelica." Chiharu nonchalantly. Sumiko turned back towards the door with a look of incredulity.

"Your doll? I thought she was in the Nurses Room."

"She is." Chiharu said. "But after… the fire… there have been two of her. One is in the room, and the other one walks around in the orphanage. She's very shy and she won't hurt you Miss."

Sumiko felt her skin break out into goosebumps. Besides the crazed ghosts of nurses and a decapitated matron, she now had to deal with the ghost of a doll, and a life sized one at that.

"I'll take your word for it." Sumiko said. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Kazuo…" Chiharu said the name with anger. Sumiko then heard a little girl sniffling and crying behind the door. Not knowing what to do, Sumiko just stood there before the door. She wandered what this Kazuo had done to make Chiharu both angry and sad.

"Are you okay?" Sumiko asked in a soft, almost motherly voice. The girl stopped crying when she heard Sumiko.

"Yes..."

Sumiko heard another sniffle before Chiharu spoke again.

"Kazuo is a bad boy. Don't ever let him out of the Pantry. He deserves to be in there."

The anger in Chiharu's voice was a little frightening. Sumiko didn't think that an eight year old could possess such vindictiveness. Sumiko tried to inquire more about this Kazuo but Chiharu didn't answer. It became very quiet again and Sumiko decided to head down to the Nurses Room. As she was heading down the stairs, Sumiko felt the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

Besides her hair, Sumiko had a sinking feeling. She felt that she was being watched and that someone or something was right behind her. Tightly gripping her flashlight, which was shaking slightly because of her trembling hand, Sumiko turned around and shined the beam up towards the top of the stairs. A tall figure wearing a dark blue hat and coat with a white dress covered her face with her pale hand when the light was shined on her.

As soon as the light fell on her, the figure darted backwards down the hall. Sumiko flinched when she saw that happen. "Great, that thing is following me now…" she muttered quietly to herself. Sumiko remembered that Chiharu had called the doll Angelica. She thought it was strange that the doll had a Western name. It reminded Sumiko of a doll that was on display in her old elementary school in Shizuhara. She had seen it a few times whenever she walked through the halls there.

It was originally from America and had been a part of some trans-cultural peace program two decades before World War II. The doll wore a pretty white dress with a bright yellow pinafore and she had brown braided pigtails and eyes and her name was Joanna. During the war, the school's principle had hidden the doll in his home to prevent her from being destroyed. The principle's daughter rediscovered the doll three decades later and Joanna was put back on display at the school. During the early 1980's, another trans-cultural program gave Joanna a companion named Melissa and the two were exhibited side by side outside of the school's faculty office from then on.

It was most likely that the doll had come from that program. After recovering from her shock, Sumiko made her way down the stairs. When she faced the door below the mezzanine, Sumiko approached it carefully. Very gently she turned the soot-stained doorknob and Sumiko pulled it open slowly. Her skin trembled when she saw the gaping blackness beyond the door as its old hinges let out dull, echoing creeks.

As the gap became greater and greater, Sumiko braced herself for the worst. She hoped that neither of the nurses, or the Dark Priestess, was behind the door. When she felt brave enough, Sumiko looked around the door and she shined the flashlight into the darkness. Nothing was there except stained walls and a blackened floor. Sighing with relief, Sumiko journeyed into the hallway.

The silence and darkness of the area soon fell upon Sumiko as she entered it. Just like the hallway above, there were, somehow, picture frames that held scorched photos or paintings whose contents were obscured or completely destroyed. Intricate glass lamps held by scorched sconces decorated the walls, a charred desk (which had collapsed onto its left side due to its legs having been burned away), stood beneath a large rectangular mirror that was covered with black markings and soot. Besides the great quiet and darkness, Sumiko also felt a sense of dread. She felt very vulnerable as she entered this particular hallway.

Subduing her fear, Sumiko boldly continued on with her mission. She examined the door further down the hall. When she opened it, she discovered that it led down to a large basement and that the stairs had been burned completely away.

"God forgive me… God forgive me… God forgive me please…"

A familiar voice put Sumiko on high alert. Gertrude's spirit was in the basement and Sumiko couldn't see her anywhere down there; it was pitch black and for some reason the flashlight's beam couldn't pierce the darkness. To make it even creepier, the darkness was moving as well. Revealed under the glare of the flashlight, Sumiko noticed how the darkness had a cloudy "texture" and she realized that it was a wall of thick, dark smoke.

"Satan's work has been done here… His familiars and devils have come into this orphanage… Only fire can cleanse it now…"

Sumiko froze when she heard those words. Gertrude had started the fire all those years ago, taking the lives of her fellow nurses, Japanese associates and most of the children along with her. But her mentioning of "Satan's work" caught her Sumiko's attention. What did Gertrude witness that caused her to suffer what appeared to a mental breakdown?

"Just as You had sent down the fires of heaven upon the sin filled streets of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament, I too shall invoke such a cleansing tonight… Please forgive me… Please forgive me… Please forgive me…"

As quickly, and as silently as she could, Sumiko closed the door to the basement. After she was sure that the door had been securely put back in its place, Sumiko slowly backed away from the door.

"At least that wasn't the Nurse's Room…" she said to herself.

As she turned around to venture down the hallway, Sumiko heard a familiar voice from a door on wall to her right.

"Is anyone there? Please help me!"

It was the same voice crying out for help the night before. It sounded like it belonged to a little boy. Sumiko didn't know what to do. The boy could have been luring her into a trap but his cries were slowing penetrating her resolve to ignore him. He sounded so scared…

"Baaaaaaddddd…." Another voice whispered, it's low and drawn out tone sending shivers down Sumiko's spine and causing goosebumps to break out on her skin.

"Awwwwfffffuuuuuulllll…. Cccccchhhiiiiiiilllllldddddd…."

The voice felt like it was coming from every direction; filling Sumiko's ears with its dreadful, ghostly monotone.

"Somebody please help me!" the little boy cried out again.

"Dddddoooonnnnn'tttttt…." The disembodied voice echoed again, its breath sounding similar to a breeze blowing beneath a door.

"She's going to get me! She's going to get me!" the boy sounded more frantic this time and Sumiko's protective instincts went into overdrive. She ran towards the door and she grabbed the charred doorknob. Just as her hand had gripped the blackened metal, another hand fell upon hers. It was pale, cold, and surprisingly hard. Sumiko looked up to see who was trying to stop her, only to come face to face with two black holes glaring back at her.

"Holy shit!" Sumiko screamed. Despite her shock, Sumiko's adrenaline kicked in and she backed away as fast as she could from the eyeless woman. Her eye sockets were scarred with nicks and scratches. They looked to have resulted from somebody trying to cut out her eyes with a knife or some other sharp weapon. Despite the lack of eyes, Sumiko could see that the ghost was not a Japanese woman, nor human for that matter. She wore clothes that Sumiko though looked familiar to ones seen in photographs from the 1920's and woman had ginger curls. The ghost resembled a doll…

"Angelica…" Sumiko whispered to herself. This was the ghost that had been following her, the spirit of Chiharu's doll. Angelica began to walk in a stiff and terrifying gait towards Sumiko, her black eye sockets "staring" through Sumiko. Acting quickly, Sumiko began backing up to buy more time for herself to get her Camera Obscura. Quickly stuffing her flashlight beneath her left armpit, Sumiko quickly unhooked her Camera from her belt and she aimed it towards Angelica. Except, Angelica wasn't in the hallway anymore.

Sumiko quickly spun around in anticipation of Angelica attacking her from behind, only to find nothing instead. The hallway was silent, so silent that the only noise was Sumiko's heavy breathing. Just then, Sumiko felt her flashlight sliding out from under arm. She tried squeezing it with her muscles to keep it there, only to discover that it wasn't sliding out due to gravity. Someone was _pulling_ it out.

Before Sumiko could react her flashlight was torn from her side and it was thrown violently against a wall, its light flickering briefly but still staying lit regardless. Sumiko quickly turned around to confront Angelica, only to have her Camera seized by the ghost. Sumiko tried to blast Angelica in the face with the Camera's power, however, the doll had forced the device upward, and the only thing caught in the lens was the ceiling. The tug of war was fierce. Due to the darkness, Sumiko couldn't see a thing but she fought with all her might.

She won when she pulled back with all her strength. However, Sumiko's efforts were rewarded with her falling backward onto her rear. The Camera Obscura was still clutched in her right hand and it hit the floor along with its owner. Sumiko heard the disheartening sound of something snapping open on the floor. Due to the darkness, Sumiko couldn't see what was broken and her flashlight was near the basement door and far from her reach.

To make matters worse, from the gleam of the flashlight, Sumiko could make out the faint silhouette of Angelica shuffling towards her with her hands outstretched and ready to grab her…

* * *

 _ ***= Nissei: Term used to describe second generation Japanese immigrants. For first generation it is Issei and for third generation, Sansei.**_

 _ **This chapter has been inspired by many interesting events prior to and near the end of the WWII. Dolls have always been a horror staple and the 1927 Doll Exchange Program provided the perfect opportunity for a ghost doll. It was so sad on what had happened to the dolls on both sides of the conflict. They were destroyed simply because they were the "enemy." However, just like what had happened to Angelica and Joanna, some brave teachers protected them and the same thing occurred in the US with the Japanese dolls as well.**_

 _ **Besides researching about the "Goodwill Dolls," reading about the atrocities that occurred during the Firebombing of Tokyo was a harrowing read. Most of the orphans in the orphanage lost their parents and homes due to this tragic event.  
**_

 _ **Now, one more tangent before I let you go. I mentioned earlier that I had writer's block. However, it only applied for this story. During this story's hiatus, I was coming up with a plot and character list for a future story based off the history of "A Song of Ice and Fire." It is an alternate historical tale where a conspiracy helps Rhaenyra Targaryen ascend the Iron Throne as the first reigning queen of Westeros. The story will be called "Reign of the Dragon Queen," and it will feature the queen's growing family, her reign, and the onslaught of the postponed civil war known as the "Dance of Dragons." It will be sometime before it will be published but I will let you know when its ready. ;)**_

 _ **Anyway, thank you for reading, and please review! :) **_


	8. Chapter 7: Dark Remnants

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the late update. Been a little busy. Last month, I published a new story, " _Reign of the Dragon Queen_." It is an alternate history story based on G.R.R. Martin's " _A Song of Ice and Fire_ " series on what would have happened if Rhaenyra Targaryen had secured the Iron Throne before her half-brother and stepmother could take it from her. With three stories to work on now, it will take longer for each one to be updated. I promise that it will be worth the wait however. ;) **

**Without further adieu, _do enjoy the story! :)_**

 **Author's Note: Profanity ahead.  
**

* * *

Futile as it was, Sumiko tried to back away from the approaching specter. As predicted, Sumiko's attempt to escape was wasted effort and the doll's porcelain hands grabbed her by the neck. The fingers were smooth and so cold; it felt as if the figure's hands were made of ice. They were also very strong too and the pressure Angelica was applying to her victim's throat was causing Sumiko to gasp for breath. This was bad.

"Let… me… go…! Let… me… go…!" Sumiko wheezed.

Angelica paid no heed to her victim's pleas and she simply applied more pressure to her throat. Seeing that begging wasn't going to get her anywhere, Sumiko began to fight back. She began to rock her body in an attempt to throw off the doll's ghost and she clamped her hands on Angelica's wrists. She seemed surprised by her victim fighting back for the doll seemed to "flinch" in a sense. With all her might, Sumiko was able to pull the ghost's hands off from her throat.

When the doll's thumbs were off her throat, Sumiko took in a deep breath. She then kicked Angelica in the stomach. The doll backed off, letting off a muffled screech of disbelief through her porcelain lips. Seeing her chance, Sumiko quickly got up and she grabbed the Camera Obscura from the floor. A collage of used and unused film jutted out of the Camera's back, which had been snapped open from the drop.

"Shit!" Sumiko said to herself when she saw the damage. Despite Angelica being behind her to her left, the doll did not attack her, yet. Panicking at the thought of another ambush, Sumiko quickly pushed the film back in and she slammed the back of the Camera back on. Most of the back clicked right into place, but the left corner jutted out just a little bit. Remembering the battle with Tetsuo Mori at Watanabe Shrine, Sumiko immediately looked through the lens.

Just like that battle from four years before, the lenses gave off some light that allowed Sumiko to see in the dark. The hairs on the back of Sumiko's neck and arms began to stand up and she felt an eerie presence coming in behind her. It was the fastest turn Sumiko had ever done when she spun around to face the incoming strike. When she stopped, Sumiko took a photograph. The blinding flash briefly lit up the hallway, and Angelica. Her right hand was outstretched and ready to grab Sumiko when the latter had turned around and hit her with a Shutter Chance.

Angelica was pushed back towards the wall and she went through it. Sumiko felt immense relief that the Camera was working. This relief was short-lived however. Just as quickly as she was pushed back, Angelica recovered and resumed her attack. She emerged through the wall and disappeared before Sumiko could attack her again. The hall then suddenly fell silent and Angelica did not come.

Sumiko looked around the hallway frantically for Angelica but she did not see her anywhere. The silence was heavy and combined with the darkness; it was a truly oppressive and nerve-wracking atmosphere. The fear Sumiko felt summoned forth flashbacks from her childhood, memories of dark nights when she would hide under the covers of her bed. The heavy pounding of her heart, the trembling of her skin, the overwhelming fear that there was something lurking in the darkness waiting to grab little Sumiko the moment she emerged from beneath her blanket. Back then there wasn't anything lurking in the shadows of Sumiko's bedroom, but now, in the halls of Okamoto Orphanage, there _was_ something after her and she was cornered.

Turning to and fro caused Sumiko to become dizzy and she had to stop and still her frightened mind. Clutching her forehead, Sumiko panted as she tried to calm her nerves. Looking through her fingers, Sumiko saw a strange sight. A bright light was approaching her very slowly.

"What the…?" Sumiko muttered to herself in confusion.

As the light got closer, Sumiko saw the silver, circular rim of her flashlight coming closer to her. That was when Sumiko's heart sank. Even as fear began to tear at her being, Sumiko's hands went into autopilot and she quickly brought the Camera Obscura up to her face. The flashlight was tossed towards Sumiko, who moved out of its way in time, and Angelica hurried towards her prey with her hands outstretched. Sumiko only had a second to get a Shutter Chance and she took it without hesitation.

The blast sent Angelica back towards the wall. Her ghostly body went partially through the wall and only her left arm and leg were exposed through the charred plaster. Despite the barrier, another Shutter Chance appeared and Sumiko took it. A spine-chilling hiss rang out and Angelica disappeared again. The sound of that hiss gave Sumiko a boost in confidence for her, since it appeared that Angelica was on her last leg.

"Yyyyyyyooooooouuuuuuu….."

Sumiko quickly turned around and through the Viewfinder, she saw Angelica charging/hobbling towards her at full speed. Despite her fear, Sumiko's patience was stronger and another Shutter Chance appeared. Taking it, Angelica stopped her charge and she clasped her eyeless face into her pale hands, a series of noises similar to both choking and growling emanating from her frozen lips. Angelica flailed about briefly and when she stopped, she faded away into the darkness.

"Chiharu…"

The name was whispered softly and it wasn't drawn out like the words Angelica had used. Her tone sounded mournful. She missed her owner… Sumiko's knees began to buckle but she held herself up with her right hand propped up against the wall.

"Oh God… oh God…" Sumiko panted.

Out of all the ghostly encounters she had at Watanabe Shrine, this one had to have been the most frightening and hairiest yet. As her strength returned, Sumiko straightened up and she took a deep breath. Feeling better, she turned her attention back towards her flashlight. Despite all that it had gone through, being dropped and thrown around, its light bulb was still giving off a vibrant ray of light. Sumiko gave the flashlight a reassuring squeeze; it felt good to Sumiko to have her reliable tool back in her hand.

"Is she gone…?" a young voice resounded.

The voice belonged to the boy who was locked behind the door. Sumiko tried opening the door again, only to discover that it was locked. As soon as she took her hand off of the doorknob, Sumiko saw and heard a familiar wavering aura appear on the door. Taking the hint, Sumiko backed up and she took a picture of the aura, which turned into a layer of writhing pale flames. The image of a small dark colored key appeared.

The key appeared to be laying on a flat surface with a sharp corner. The corner looked to belong to a table or desk and there was a chair beside it. Another clue in the image showed the dark outline of windowpanes being reflected by moonlight onto the table's surface. Sumiko hadn't been to any room that possessed those features and she hoped it would be downstairs. She decided to ask the Boy Behind the Door if he knew anything about the key and the room it was depicted in.

"Hey… do you by chance know where the key to this door was placed? This photo tells me that it's on a table in a room with big windows. Do you recognize what I am telling you?"

"Yes." The boy replied bitterly. "Okamoto-san put the key in the dining room after she locked me in here. She put it there so she could let me out the next morning before breakfast."

"That's harsh." Sumiko said sympathetically. "Why were you locked in there?"

"Because I put Chiharu in her place…" the boy muttered.

Some of Sumiko's sympathy for the boy evaporated when she heard that comment.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

Silence answered Sumiko back.

"I don't want to tell you." The boy said finally after a moment. "I just want to leave the pantry. It's so tiny and that spooky lady was in here earlier… Please, please get me out of here!" the boy begged.

Sumiko couldn't ignore the spirit's wishes. Regardless of what he had done, whatever it was, he didn't deserve to spend all eternity locked in a pantry with Angelica's deranged spirit walking about.

"Don't worry, I will." Sumiko promised. "I just need to get something else first."

"Why?!" the boy demanded.

"Be patient, I will get you out of there. I will be back. I promise."

"Fine…" the boy sighed with petulant annoyance.

Securing the boy's trust, Sumiko turned her attention down towards the hall. She was hesitant to go down at first, still feeling some fear regarding Angelica sneaking up behind her again. Sumiko took a deep breath that calmed her down, and she began to walk. Her footsteps resounded throughout the dark and empty hallway and it felt like Sumiko was walking in some dark cavern rather than a hall. Rounding the corner, Sumiko saw a door on the wall to her left.

Curious, she gripped the soot-stained doorknob and she turned it. A gust of cool air greeted Sumiko as the door was opened onto a large and spacious kitchen. A large worktable was in the center of the room with a collapsed overhanging pot display lying on top of it with its charred pots and pans scattered over the table and with some on the floor. Fire-blackened cabinets and drawers, traditional Japanese and 1940's contemporary stovetops and icebox lined the charred walls of the kitchen. Moonlight flowed through an open window, giving the chamber an eerie atmosphere.

Seeing nothing of interest, Sumiko closed the kitchen door and she continued on her way down the hall. A few feet down from the kitchen was another door. The doorknob was enveloped by a frosty cold aura and Sumiko's instinctively moved her hand away from the knob. A strange noise caused Sumiko to look through the Viewfinder. On the door's surface was a wall of writhing pale flames just like on the pantry door. Sumiko took a picture and an image appeared.

The image showed what appeared to be a ghostly man looking through a tall window with what appeared to be a high stone back wall in the background. Taking this clue into consideration, Sumiko resumed her quest. Shining her light down the hallway, Sumiko saw the elevator further down and another door on the wall opposite of the one where the kitchen and other room doors were located. Opening it, Sumiko came across a large dining room. Unlike the other rooms Sumiko had been in earlier, the dining room furnishings were remarkably still in some order.

The massive dining table was still standing upright with two silver candlesticks warped and twisted from heat and crowned with long brittle strands of soot-peppered wax on top. The chairs were still pushed under the table although most of them had broken down from the fire and had been reduced to small chunks of charcoal and piles of ash. Looking up with the flashlight, Sumiko saw a huge chandelier that was swaddled with dust and cobwebs. If the dining room had a chandelier, why did they candlesticks in the room? Taking her eyes off the ceiling, Sumiko proceeded to look around the room.

There was a large Western style cabinet that had windows that were partially scorched. Curious, Sumiko opened the doors and she found an immaculate set of china dishware that had been miraculously spared from the destruction of the conflagration. Pristine and beautiful plates, tea cups, saucers, a sugar bowl and some soup bowls decorated with elegant blue ink illustrations of a Chinese garden shined under the light of Sumiko's flashlight. Losing interest over the china, Sumiko closed the cabinet and she continued looking around. When she rounded the table, Sumiko found the key that showed up in the image on the locked boy's door.

Sumiko picked the key up and pocketed it. After doing so, Sumiko recognized the window from the image from the other door. Using the Camera Obscura, Sumiko saw the image of a pale man looking through. The man was Caucasian and he was wearing an American army uniform. His face bore a melancholy expression. After the flash had faded, the man disappeared.

"Why did he look so sad?" Sumiko said quietly aloud to herself.

It was strange. What was the spirit of an American soldier doing here? The orphanage plaque did not list an adult American male as one of the deceased. Ruminating on this question did not produce any answers for Sumiko and she decided to let it go for now. She went back out into the hallway to get access to the door that required the man's picture.

The door could now be opened and Sumiko entered. It was a big room that had three charred bedframes and mattresses that had been burned down to their bedsprings. An open window allowed moonlight to shine through and Sumiko saw moss growing on the cracked and charred windowsill. Looking around, Sumiko saw a writing desk, bookcases, and three nightstands by each of the beds. The lamps on the nightstands were missing their shades and the lightbulbs had been cracked or shattered from the heat.

Military issue footlockers were at the foot of each bed and there was a brick fireplace at the end towards the right of the room. The remains of three chairs were lying by the walls close to the fireplace. One interesting aspect of the room was an old record player. It was a portable one that was built into a suitcase. The fire had burned the suitcase down to an ashy pulp while the record player itself was a mass of scorched metal, exposed wiring and a burned out record that was still resting in the center of the player.

Besides the record player, Sumiko found what she had originally been looking for. Resting on the table by the record player was a doll. It looked exactly like Angelica and it even had empty and scarred eye sockets. Despite the fire, the doll's condition was intact, like someone had just laid her there. By the doll's left hand were two small, circular objects that were the same size as Sumiko's index fingernails. Putting her flashlight down on the table so that the light could shine on the objects, Sumiko held one down with her left index finger and thumb and she used her right index fingertip to clean off the soot.

A sapphire blue iris and black pupil greeted Sumiko upon being cleaned. The objects were Angelica's missing eyes. There were some nicks around the rims of the glass eyes and Sumiko considered Angelica's eyeless state. Who had cut out her eyes and why? Sumiko's thoughts were then disturbed by a mysterious sound.

It sounded like a woman singing. It was soft and steady and was being sung in English.

" _A heart that's true_

 _There are such things_

 _A dream for two_ "

Sumiko tensed up when she heard it. The song was unfamiliar to her and she couldn't help but listen despite her terror.

" _There are such things_

 _Someone to whisper darling_ "

From what Sumiko could understand, it was a love song. The voice of the female spirit who was singing it began to waver.

" _You're my guiding star_

 _Not caring what you own_

 _But just… what... you are..._ "

The woman sniffled and wept softly. She muttered something that Sumiko couldn't understand before continuing with the song.

" _A peaceful sky_

 _There are such things_

 _A rainbow high-_ "

The woman then broke out into hysterical weeping and she couldn't finish. Deciding that now was the time to leave, Sumiko quickly scooped up Angelica and she fled from the room where the invisible spirit continued to cry. As soon as Sumiko shut the door, she heard a lachrymose voice speak.

"Oh David… David… why... why did this have to happen? Why did you have to die…?"

Sumiko peeled herself away from the door and she took off for the pantry door. Her footsteps alerted the boy's spirit and his voice rang out from behind the door.

"You're back! Thank goodness! Please hurry and unlock the door!"

"I'm getting there, hold on." Sumiko said and she fished out the key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock. The lock clicked and Sumiko opened the door. A boy came bounding out. He was wearing blue and white striped pajamas with white slippers and his hair was trimmed in a bowl cut style.

The boy looked Sumiko in the eye with graciousness. His gaze soon fell towards the doll that Sumiko was holding in her hand. His grateful look changed into sadism and a massive grin appeared on his face. With one quick movement, Kazuo swiped Angelica from Sumiko's hand.

"Hey!" Sumiko said indignantly.

Before she could react, Kazuo took off down the hall with Angelica in hand. Sumiko was furious. She had let her sympathy for Kazuo's paranormal imprisonment override Chiharu's warning.

"Goddamn it!" Sumiko cursed to herself and she took off after the ghost boy in frustration. Unbeknownst to Sumiko, her releasing Kazuo had caused the other spirits within the orphanage to stir. And soon, she was not going to be the only one who was going to come for Kazuo…

* * *

 _The children relaxed after Sachiko-san had left with the guest to discuss the adoption process. Some of the kids began playing the game darumasan-ga-koronda, a traditional Japanese children's game in the garden. A child was selected to become the "Oni" through a game of rock-paper-scissors and in this case, Izumi was chosen to become the Oni. She stood by the wall with her face buried in her arm. Nine other children were lined up in a row to play the game._

 _Izumi called out "hajime-no-ippo", which meant "first step" and this caused the children to take one step. When they did, Izumi turned around to face them, causing the players to freeze into position. If any of them were caught moving, they became the Oni's prisoner. Shun stumbled slightly and Izumi caught it, forcing the boy to walk over towards her and hold her hand. Izumi looked away again and she called out "darumasan-ga-koronda", causing the children to speed run towards Izumi and Shun._

 _Izumi turned around when the children were halfway there to her and two children were caught moving, making them Izumi's new prisoners. The remaining children were going to wait for Izumi to call out darumasan-ga-koronda again so that they could "break the chain" she had on their friends. Izumi did just that and soon all three of her prisoners were released. Izumi asked who had released her prisoners, the identity of the "savior" being Jiro. Jiro then called out the number eight and he took those same numbered steps to pick the new oni, starting the game all over again._

 _Watching the spectacle from the Multipurpose Room were Junko, Ume and Chiharu. After watching Jiro pick a new Oni, the three began to converse._

" _Isn't it exciting that Kimi is going to be adopted?" Ume whispered._

" _Yes it is." Junko said. "The man looked nice. Hiromi-san says Kimi will tell us all about him at dinnertime tonight."_

" _I wander if anyone will ever adopt us." Chiharu said wistfully._

 _All three of them, no, most of the children hoped that they would get adopted so that they could have families again. Some kids still had living family members but they were either too poor or simply not interested in taking them in. It wasn't like the children's lives were not happy at Okamoto Orphanage. It was very nice actually. They were taken care of, fed, educated and taken on trips to swim in Kappa Lake during the summer or to visit the Tsukuyomi Shrine for festivals._

 _Sachiko and her niece Hiromi, along with the nurses and volunteers from the village who came to perform chores in the orphanage were very friendly and the children got along with everyone. In a way, they were like a big family and it would be immensely bittersweet to leave it for another one even if it were for the best. Ume leaned into Junko and whispered, "Junko?"_

" _Hm?"_

" _If I get adopted, will you come with me?"_

" _I will. Sachiko-san will have to ask if I can join you though."_

 _Ume's face fell._

" _If we can't be together then I don't want to be adopted…" she said and she pouted._

" _It's okay Ume." Junko said reassuringly. "We will always be together, even when we are not in the same room. Together in spirit."_

 _The words caused Ume to smile._

" _Okay…" she said._

 _A child's scream caused everyone's faces to turn towards the upper left corner of the garden wall. An afternoon of merriment ended with the wail of a frightened child and later that evening, the life that everyone had known would come to an abrupt, and fiery end…_

* * *

 **I hope this chapter didn't sound rushed. But anyway, I do like how my story is progressing. I will reveal the name of the song and its singer in a later chapter and why it is so important to Francine. Kazuo is quite the little troublemaker. The future chapters will discuss his mischief and how he came to be that way. I know its been a little slow, but once again, it will be worth the wait!  
**

 **Thanks for reading and _please review! :)_ **


	9. Chapter 8: Suffer the Children

**Sorry for the long delay in publishing this. Been quite busy. Getting this chapter posted has been on my mind and I felt bad about not getting it out sooner. Anyway, this is my first publication for 2018! Also, I have a new story called "Reign of the Dragon Queen". It's about the Dance of Dragons from G.R.R. Martin's _A Song of Ice and Fire_ series. Its an alternate history regarding what it would have been like if Rhaenyra had been successfully crowned queen before her stepmother and half-brothers could usurp her claim. Because that story is so popular, I will be working on that one for most of the time. However, since "Cries of the Children" is also popular, I will work on this one too. Don't worry, I will never give up on this one. ;) **

**Enough talk though. Enjoy!**

"Alright, where did you go?" Sumiko snarled as she wandered the dark halls for the runaway boy spirit that had taken the doll from her. She could not believe her bad luck. After getting thrashed around by the ghost of a possessed and eyeless doll and sneaking around the devastated halls of the orphanage, Sumiko's kindness and bravery was returned with thievery. Added to the fact that Kazuo was a ghost, the chances of finding him nearby was slim to none. Sumiko scowled fiercely as she marched down the hall, her footsteps pressing heavily on the boards.

"Goddamned little brat…" she hissed under her breath. "Should have listened to Chiharu." Sumiko's tone changed as she remembered Kazuo's earlier predicament. "But he sounded so scared. I had to…"

Something crashed against a wall and shattered, the comotion soon followed by a stifled giggle. The sound had come from the dining room. Apprehensive about confronting a ghost who could throw things at her, Sumiko nevertheless made her way to the door. Gripping the doorknob, she cautiously pushed it open and peered through the crack. Nothing came flying towards Sumiko and she did not see anything move suddenly in the corner of her eye, so she walked inside.

Looking to her right, Sumiko saw the china cabinet open. Cautious, Sumiko took out her Camera Obscura and she looked through the Viewfinder. She didn't see Kazuo by the cabinet or anywhere nearby in the dining room. He wasn't hiding under the table, kneeling by any of the drawer sets or the china cabinet. Where was he?

Through the Viewfinder, Sumiko saw what looked like the top of Kazuo's head fly past her, his footsteps echoing. Jumping from fright, Sumiko accidentally pressed the button and took a photograph of nothing. A little boy's laughter was heard, further angering Sumiko. Kazuo's ghost was fast, unpredictable and small due to being a child. A nightmarish combination to have in a spirit.

"Hey over here!"

Pointing her flashlight towards the table, Sumiko saw an eerie sight. It was Angelica the doll. She was sitting upright on the table and her right arm was moving up and down like she was waving at Sumiko. At first, Sumiko did not know whether it was the work of Angelica's spirit or Kazuo being an invisible puppeteer. But she soon came to the conclusion that it was the latter.

Looking through the Viewfinder, Sumiko proved her suspicions correct. Kazuo's dimly radiant ghost appeared through the lens, manipulating the doll's arm with his hand whilst steadying her with the other. Seeing that Sumiko was now able to see him, Kazuo grinned at her. Without a word, he ceased his mischief involving Angelica and quickly ducked under the table with supernatural speed, causing the chair to Kazuo's left budge from the swift movement with its legs groaning as it moved slightly across the floor. And then there was no sound.

The weight of the dead silence was excruciating. Where was Kazuo now? The chair at the end of the table at Sumiko's right slid back, its charred, brittle legs snapping from the pressure and breaking apart. Looking over quickly with the Camera Obscura still up at her face, Sumiko saw Kazuo's incoming charge. His arms were open and his countenance was that of a mischievous grin.

The Viewfinder glowed red and Sumiko took the Shutter Chance. Kazuo let out a whining shriek as he was violently pushed back.

"Ow! Ow! OOOOOWWWWW!!!!" Kazuo screeched. The ghost boy's cries caught Sumiko off guard, missing a second Shutter Chance. Regaining his balance, Kazuo glared at Sumiko with a look of petulant rage.

"You're going to pay for that!" He yelled. Kazuo then disappeared into thin air. Sumiko frantically began to search for Kazuo. Once again, her maternal instincts had inhibited common sense. Then again, even if she did take the Second Shutter Chance, Kazuo's enraged reaction would not have been any different.

Running footsteps rang out in the burnt room and soon two small hands pushed on Sumiko's left side. The force applied by the hands knocked Sumiko off balance, causing her to fall onto the floor. She soon felt pressure being applied to her chest and soon the sensation of cold hands being wrapped around her throat was felt. Kazuo's spirit reappeared with him sitting on her chest and his hands gripping her throat. Sumiko was terribly surprised by the eight year old ghost's strength, not to mention the malice and anger she saw in his face.

"I am the son of Hiroaki Nakashima, the head of the great Nakashima Zaibatsu. The arms and steel produced by my father's factories protect and defend our proud nation from the barbarians who wish to despoil it. How dare you treat me this way you ungrateful and lowly woman!"

Sumiko did not know what to be more surprised about, Kazuo's violence or his words. Remembering that Kazuo was only a child, Sumiko gained the upper hand with her adult strength and she pushed the ghost off of her. Kazuo whined with frustration and he gave Sumiko a dark glare that caused a small shiver to travel up her spine. The ghost balled his hands into fists. Just as Kazuo took a step forward, someone spoke.

"Evil child…"

The voice was female and it sounded familiar to Sumiko. Kazuo, who before was held in the grip of his fury, halted when he heard the voice and he froze to where he stood. Sumiko saw the boy's face change from dark anger to one of pure terror. Something materialized behind Kazuo and when Sumiko looked up, it was her turn to freeze with fear. Angelica's ghost was right behind him.

The already tense atmosphere suddenly became an uncomfortable quagmire of anxiety and fear. Even though she did not possess a sixth sense, Sumiko could sense a great deal of hatred from Angelica that was directed towards Kazuo. The boy looked behind him. When he saw Angelica, the boy screamed.

"No! Not again!" He shrieked.

As Angelica tried to grab at Kazuo with a deathly pale hand, Sumiko's mind was suddenly transported from the present to the distant past. Scratchy monochrome air greeted Sumiko's sight when she regained control of her senses. The room she was in was long, narrow and partially dark, courtesy of a large source of light. Because of this light, Sumiko saw that the narrow room she was in was a pantry; with rows of wooden shelves filled with canned goods, jars, and sacks of foodstuffs. The pantry ceiling was obscured by smoke.

The sound of wood being struck repeatedly was heard coming directly from Sumiko's left. Turning around, Sumiko saw Kazuo banging on a door with his left fist. A large flashlight, held in Kazuo's right hand, was the source of the luminescence in the room. Smoke was steadily pouring into the room through the crack under the door. It crept up the door like a reverse waterfall, and an orange light pulsed through the crack.

"Help!" Kazuo cried out, his voice on the verge of hysteria. "Someone please! Get me out of here!"

The little boy kept striking the door and crying out for help. All the while, Sumiko watched Kazuo's final moments unfold before her. It hurt to see this child so afraid and crying out to be saved and it broke Sumiko's heart.

"Why am I seeing this…?" Sumiko thought morosely.

The room's temperature, which had been growing hotter, suddenly began to cool down. Kazuo's flashlight flickered, causing the pantry to blink from illumination to darkness in rapid succession.

"Kazuo…" a voice whispered.

Both Kazuo and Sumiko froze. The voice had come from inside the pantry. Kazuo aimed his flickering flashlight towards the end of the room. The blinking light caught the still and tall figure of a woman standing in front of a pile of crumpled bedding. The blinking light caught the most defining feature of the figure; her scarred and empty eye sockets.

Those two black holes were staring directly at Kazuo with murderous intent. Soon Sumiko's point of view became Kazuo's. She could feel the boy backing up into a corner fearfully, the flashlight's beam still aimed at Angelica. The doll's head tilted left and right like a curious dog, as if she were unsure about the nature of Kazuo's movements. All the while, Kazuo's eight year old heart was beating heavily in his chest from fear.

Time seemed to stop within the pantry. Kazuo couldn't move, and he breathed heavily at the sight of the doll's ghost. Angelica remained stationary and motionless, still staring at the boy. Even though she did not have eyes, Sumiko felt a great hatred coming from the sockets. She then considered the state of Angelica's face.

"Did Kazuo remove her eyes?" Sumiko thought.

Just as soon as that thought was finished, Angelica moved her right foot forward. Sumiko could feel Kazuo's fingertips grip the smooth plaster wall as he watched Angelica make her first steps towards her victim. Both Sumiko and Kazuo's heartbeats began to quicken immediately when Angelica made her first step. Angelica took another step before she suddenly sprinted towards the terrified little boy. Her hands clamped onto Kazuo's throat and began to squeeze.

It felt as if a vice was gripping Kazuo's throat, and Sumiko could feel the cold porcelain fingers closing off the boy's windpipe with her strength. Kazuo dropped his flashlight as he began his struggle to breathe. The flashlight crashed to the floor with a loud thud. It rolled slightly to the right before casting a large halo of light on the wall; turning Angelica into an eerie large silhouette. The only sounds present in the pantry were the crackling noises coming from outside the pantry door from the inferno and Kazuo choking.

It did not take much to end the little boy's life. He blacked out before the end came for sure, and Sumiko was brought back to the present in the dining room. Panting with fear, Sumiko brought her hand up to her throat and she gingerly touched it. Strangulation was such a brutal way to kill someone as well as go through. And to think that an eight year old boy had suffered such a fate sixty-six years earlier…

Taking her attention away from her neck, Sumiko observed the dining room. The spirits of both Kazuo and Angelica were gone. In fact, the whole room was silent, but the air remained heavy with tension. Getting up, Sumiko saw the source of stress she had been dealing with all night. Chiharu's doll was still sitting on the table in the same spot she had been placed; her eyeless face staring at the ruined tablecloth beneath her.

Relieved, but still wary, Sumiko went to the other side of the table to collect Angelica. Unnerved by the doll's face, Sumiko held Angelica in a facedown position in her hand. With Angelica in hand, she immediately set off to return to Chiharu and get the elevator key from her. Emboldened by the lack of ghosts, Sumiko's walked with a confident stride. She couldn't wait to be rid of the doll for good and to move on to her next objective, finding the second verse of _Hotaru, Hotaru_.

She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. As soon as she did, the air became monochrome and the temperature dropped significantly. The sudden cooling startled Sumiko and when she gasped in shock, she exhaled clouds from her mouth. Besides feeling the cold air, the hallway began to fill up with thick, noxious smoke. Coughing, Sumiko covered up her nose and mouth with her hand and she began making her way back to the foyer.

Eyes watering and lungs burning, Sumiko stumbled through the fog like smoke. She was just reaching the corner when she saw a shadowy human shaped figure obscured by smoke standing in the hallway. Before Sumiko could do anything, the figure suddenly dashed forward and soon, Sumiko was face to face with the Black Priestess. Just an inch away from Sumiko's face, the gaze from the priestess's uncovered right eye was like a spear that seemed to pierce Sumiko's very soul. Despite the smoke, Sumiko moved her hand away from her mouth in fear, causing her cloudy breath to be blown into the ghost's face, who remained indifferent.

"Give me the doll." The spirit said, her voice sounding hollow, her breath ice cold.

"Why?" Sumiko said, her voice nearly a whisper.

"No questions." The Black Priestess said sharply. The smoke billowed and seemed to become thicker, causing Sumiko to cough more from the lack of oxygen. The Priestess repeated her demand. "Give me the doll. After that, leave at once and never return."

Sumiko tightened her grip on Angelica. "But the kids here need help-"

In the blink of an eye, an ice cold hand was clamped over Sumiko's mouth.

"Enough…" the ghost growled, her hostile tone causing Sumiko to shiver even more. "Do not believe anything they tell you."

Sumiko could feel Angelica getting tugged in her hand by the spirit. She responded by increasing her grip on the doll. Seeing this mortal's stubborn resistance angered the Black Priestess even more. Determined to get her way, the Priestess moved her hand from Sumiko's mouth to her throat. Sumiko did not know which one was worse, having a hand over her mouth or on her throat.

"Stop resisting." The Priestess said curtly, her long, slender fingers tightening on her opponent's throat. "Give me what I want. Make it easier on yourself and give in."

Sumiko didn't know what to do. Part of her wanted to give up the doll and to forget the orphanage and its undead residents forever. However, the other half wanted to stay and help the spirits that were trapped. As Sumiko struggled, a miracle happened. A great flash of light filled Sumiko's vision, followed by a surprised yelp came from the Black Priestess and she let go of Sumiko's neck.

Supporting herself with one hand on the wall, Sumiko inhaled deeply, ignoring the dull pain that flared up in her throat as she tried to regulate her breathing. Thankfully, the smoke in the hall had thinned out somewhat. When the light cleared, Sumiko saw the Black Priestess clutching the right side of her face and gritting her teeth as if she was in pain. Looking behind her, Sumiko was greatly surprised to see who had saved her. It was Purple Kimono.

Most surprising of all, Sumiko saw that Purple Kimono had her Camera Obscura in her hands. The ghost girl herself had a look of surprise on her face. She looked from the Priestess to the Camera.

"How did you know how use the Camera?" Sumiko asked.

Purple Kimono looked at Sumiko. Before she could speak, an angry voice rang out.

"You little brat!"

The Black Priestess had recovered from the attack, and she was furious. Glowering at Purple Kimono and Sumiko, the smoke became thick again and the Black Priestess began to float towards them, rage burning in her uncovered eye like an inferno.

"Take your Camera!" Purple Kimono suddenly said and she held the Camera out towards Sumiko. She immediately took it from the ghost and attached the Camera to the waistband of her pants.

"Follow me!" Purple Kimono shouted and she suddenly took down the hall with Sumiko quickly followed suit. It was a short distance to the door, but it seemed that the orphanage's haunting was not going to make that an easy trek. The door to the nurses' quarters opened and a figure began to emerge. Sumiko ran around the open door and narrowly evaded being grabbed by a pale hand. Rounding the corner, Sumiko saw the basement door opening and more smoke billowing out.

A familiar figured draped in flames was slowly making her way up the stairs. Just like last night, Gertrude Fairchild was chanting religious themed words.

" _Do not allow a sorceress to live_ ; witchcraft has polluted this place. It must be burned away. Both the corruption and Satan's minions shall be cast into the blessed fire born from God's wrath…"

"Shit not her again!" Sumiko thought frantically to herself. Thankfully the door leading to the lobby was open. However, the hinges were groaning and the charred door was shaking, as if something was trying to pull it shut and trap Sumiko inside with the Black Priestess and the two ghosts in the hall. Moving quickly, Sumiko ran into the lobby just as the door slammed shut.

Relief washed over Sumiko, and she leaned over and grabbed her knees. She took in deep breaths of clean air. It was a little stuffy, and the smell of rain permeated the air like a natural perfume. Walking towards the window, Sumiko wiped away the soot from the glass and looked outside. A summer rain shower must have rolled in and blanketed the area in a refreshing spray when Sumiko was busy in the hallway.

The subsequent interaction of cold moisture with the hot air had created a thick fog that surrounded the orphanage like a wall. It's composition was eerily similar to the paranormal smoke conjured up by the Black Priestess. Unnerved by the recent events, Sumiko retreated from the window. Looking up at the second floor, she saw Purple Kimono looking down at her from the railing.

"Thank you for saving me." Sumiko gratefully said. "How did you know how to use the Camera though?"

"I've been watching you." Purple Kimono said matter of factly, her expression emotionless. "I saw how you used your camera."

"Huh…" Sumiko said, a small chill creeping up her spine at the thought that she was being stalked by a ghost. "You're a fast learner aren't you?"

Purple Kimono nodded, her countenance remaining the same.

"That's what my mother used to say to me…"

The mechanical click of a doorknob opening brought the conversation to an abrupt halt. Looking at the door she just came out of, Sumiko saw to her terror that it was beginning to open. A fiery light was pulsing from the outline of the door, and smoke began to seep out.

"Up here, hurry!" Purple Kimono cried out.

Tearing her gaze away from the door, Sumiko ran up to the now empty second floor as fast as she could. The downstairs was now open and a figure began to walk out. Reaching the children's bedroom, Sumiko furiously began rapping on the door.

"Chiharu, I have your doll! Please give me the key now!" Sumiko frantically demanded. She placed Angelica on the floor in front of the door and she waited for the key. Looking out towards the lobby, Sumiko saw to her horror that smoke was now reaching the second floor. And appearing at the corner that obscured the view of the stairs was non other than the Black Priestess. Sumiko panicked and looked down.

Still no key.

"Come on please!" Sumiko shouted. "She's coming! She's coming after me!"

The Priestess began floating towards Sumiko, a look of pure anger on her face. Something bumped Sumiko's left foot. Looking down, she saw the elevator key. In one swift movement, Sumiko leaned down and collected the key and she took off down the hall towards the elevator. Just moments after getting the key, the priestess passed by the door in close pursuit. Reaching the elevator, Sumiko all but jammed the key into the lock.

Fiddling with it, the lock soon released its hold. Sumiko quickly pulled the gate open and she stumbled inside. Slamming them shut, the Priestess now just four feet away, Sumiko looked at the button pad. Moving quickly, Sumiko pressed the button labeled with a black number one. Fortunately for Sumiko, the elevator doors shut quickly.

She was safe.

 **Close call for Sumiko! More interesting things await her in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and _please review! :)_**


	10. Chapter 9: A Song for the Lost

**So sorry for the late chapter. I have been quite busy with some things, especially with a new job I started just over a month ago. My stories and readers are never far from my mind, and now here it is, the ninth chapter of _Cries of the Children._ Your patience shall be richly rewarded. Without further adieu, do enjoy! :) **

**Author's Note:** **Profane words and details of a graphic and sensitive moments in Japanese history ahead.**

* * *

As soon as the elevator doors were shut, Sumiko leaned back against the wall. She slid down the smooth metal, coming to sit on the dusty floor.

"Thank God…" she whispered with an exhale of breath.

The elevator cables let out a loud, unnerving groaning sound as the mechanism came to life after decades of disuse. At least there weren't any ghosts in the elevator, but Sumiko did not like the idea of the antique carriage malfunctioning, so her tension lingered. Thankfully, the trip was short, and the elevator came to a gentle, rumbling stop. Getting up, Sumiko shined her flashlight on the console. Hanging on a hook that had been nailed above the console was a brass key with a red string tied through the hole.

Remembering that Sachiko's ghost, her severed head anyway, looked like she was in her senior years, maybe she had the key hung up in the elevator so that it wouldn't get misplaced in her desk. Without a word, Sumiko took the key off its hook and she opened the doors. Stepping back into the first floor hallway where the harrowing chase had started, Sumiko quickly walked to the locked doors. Inserting the key into the lock and twisting it resulted in a pleasant clicking sound. Carefully Sumiko opened the doors and she came across a pleasantly surprising scene.

It was a large room set up in the traditional Japanese style: tatami flooring and shoji sliding doors on three sides of the rectangular space. The end doors by the entrance were partially open to allow air to flow in, and a large white canvas was on display at the front. Cushions surrounding an antique movie projector were on the middle of the floor. It looked like the orphanage's final hours before the fire started was one spent watching films during a warm summer evening. It was a somber thought, but Sumiko had to find the rest of the song.

The first place she looked was a closet that was on her left. It was empty save for some extra, faded zabuton and film reel canisters, which was to be expected but disappointing all the same. There was a small bookcase standing up against a section of solid wall. Feeling hopeful, Sumiko walked briskly towards the case. Just like the description in Hiromi's dairy, there was a collection of Japanese folk songs.

As Sumiko read the titles on the spines, she heard a faint voice call out her name.

"Sumiko? Sumi are you here?"

Although the voice sounded distant, like it was being projected from the orphanage's foyer, Sumiko thought she recognized the voice as belonging to Amaya. What was she doing here? Confused, Sumiko got up to investigate. As she headed to the door, she was oblivious to the shadow of a figure that appeared to be watching her from the shoji doors. When Sumiko left the room, the shadow darted across the door and disappeared.

…

"Why would she be in a place like this?" Anthony asked as he pointed his flashlight up towards the spider-web veiled chandelier above.

"I have no idea Andy." Amaya replied as she looked around with her own small flashlight. "I would never want to be here by myself. Goodness, I do not want to be here period even though I am with you!"

"Yeah really." Anthony said as he moved the light around. "It's even spookier inside than it is outside. That fire really gutted this place."

The thought that at one time, a massive conflagration had filled the now cold and calm air in the orphanage with powerful heat and consuming flames made the building feel even more unsettling. This was the progenitor to even more disturbing train of thought.

"How many kids were here when the fire occurred Maya?" Anthony asked as he gingerly touched the railing on the stairwell.

"I don't remember babe." Amaya said. She then narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her nose as if she had smelled something bad. "Why would you bring that up? Now I am going to see ghost kids here now. You suck!"

"Oh come on hun," Anthony said good-naturedly. "No ghost kid is going to scare you when I'm around. You can count on that."

Amaya sighed and smiled at her boyfriend. She felt much better now when he said that. Just then footsteps were heard coming from behind the door beneath the upstairs veranda.

"Sumiko?" Amaya called out. "Is that you?"

"Yeah I'm here. Why you guys here?" A voice called out from a distance. It was strange. The footsteps sounded close, but Sumiko sounded like she was far away.

Before Amaya could say anything back, the doorknob began to turn. The door began to creak open and Amaya and Anthony waited nervously to see if Sumiko was going to emerge. Their swiftly beating hearts sank when the only thing that greeted the couple was darkness. Anthony felt a hand grip his right forearm and squeeze his tightly.

"It's okay Maya Doll, I'm right here. Don't be scared." he said reassuringly. He reached out to pat Amaya's hand with his free one. Anthony's fingers jumped slightly when they touched his girlfriend's skin.

"Wow babe your hands are freezing!"

A light was shone on Anthony's face and he looked towards it. His heart stopped when he saw that Amaya was standing just a few feet away from him. If she was over there, then who was holding onto his arm? Now frightened out of his mind, Anthony's skin trembled as goose bumps spread throughout his body. He moved his wide-eyed gaze from Amaya, who was equally terrified, to the hand that was clamped onto his arm.

Under the light of Amaya's flashlight, Anthony could see the fingers. They were sickly pale and swollen with fat cuts that oozed both blood and a clear fluid, and the fingertips were pointed in different directions. It was obvious that they were broken. Slowly looking up the woman's arm, Anthony's terrified gaze soon fell upon the equally wide eyed glare of a ghost. It was female, her raven black hair tied into a tight bun with a few strands hanging loose over her forehead, she was wearing a white kimono, and her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

"Help me… my fingers…"

When the full weight of what they were seeing finally hit them, both Anthony and Amaya screamed. Anthony backed up against the staircase while Amaya backtracked into the door; both their flashlights were fixed on the ghost. The specter quietly looked at her mangled fingers.

"I tried to go for help… But the door was locked, and I tried to go out my window. It came down on my hands… It broke eight of my fingers except for my thumbs…"

The ghost tried to bend her fingers and the sound of broken bones moving was heard. It was nauseating and Anthony balled his hands into fists as he cringed. Amaya held her hand up to her mouth as she gagged. Fingers then looked at Anthony and began walking towards him.

"Please… help us…"

She outstretched her hands towards Anthony. It was a pitiful sight, but all Anthony and Amaya could feel was terror. Just as Fingers was about to touch Anthony's chest, a bright light appeared and pushed her back. As Fingers began to recover from the attack, another blast of light put her down for good. Her cries of pain echoed throughout the orphanage as she dematerialized and vanished altogether.

When they were sure that the specter was gone, Anthony and Amaya slowly looked over to see who their savior was. Sumiko, when she moved the camera from her face, was just as surprised as her friends were. Nothing was spoken between the three for a full minute before Amaya finally found her voice.

"Su-Sumiko… What just happened?"

"Uh…" Sumiko faltered, not even knowing where to begin with this explanation. "Well…" After a brief struggle over what she wanted to say, Sumiko shrugged her shoulders and winged it.

"That was a ghost and I got rid of it with this antique camera made by my boyfriend's dad which in turn was based off of a design by some long dead guy who studied the paranormal." Saying this all in one breath, Sumiko inhaled deeply. "Any questions? Does this make sense now?"

Anthony and Amaya stared at Sumiko with blank looks. As if he were a boy in school again, Anthony tentatively rose his hand up to ask a question. Sumiko acknowledged Anthony's inquiry.

"Yes, Anthony?"

"Okay so… what the hell is going here?"

"And what does this have do with some dead guy and your boyfriend's dad?" Amaya added.

Sumiko sighed and she began the longer version of her explanation. When she was done, Sumiko found that her two friends looked even more confused than before. Before she could add any more details, Anthony interjected.

"So that thing can exorcise ghosts? Like what they did in the "Exorcist"?"

"Yep."

"Knew that camera was strange." Amaya said. "But would have never guessed in a million years that this was its true function…"

"Yeah I couldn't believe it either when I used for the first time four years ago."

Anthony and Amaya's eyes widened when they heard Sumiko's comment.

"Four years ago? You've done this before?" Amaya asked disbelievingly.

"So you moonlight as a ghost hunter or something while studying art by day?" Anthony asked.

"No, I have only started doing it again last night." Sumiko replied. "Speaking of which, why are you two here?"

Caught off guard by the question, the couple were at a loss for words before Amaya offered her explanation.

"I woke up to use the bathroom and when I came back, I noticed that your tent was open and that you were gone. Andy said that he saw you leave your tent the other night through our window, but he was so tired he thought he dreamed it."

"Yeah, all the businesses in town are closed at this hour. Maya and I had a hunch that you would be here. It's the most interesting part of town other than the lake and shrine."

"Good hunch." Sumiko complimented.

"So what are you doing here?" Amaya asked.

"It's a long story. Why don't you two walk with me? I will explain along the way."

As Sumiko turned to head back to the multipurpose room, she saw that both Amaya and Anthony were hesitant to move. Sumiko gave them a small, reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you both safe. Believe it or not there are not too many ghosts lurking around here…"

Hesitantly the couple followed Sumiko deeper into the orphanage. As Sumiko regaled her friends about Purple Kimono and her plea for help, Anthony and Amaya observed their new frightening environment carefully. Every creaking floorboard was the sound of ghost walking, behind the smudged glass of picture frames were eyes following their every move just like in old horror movies, and there was a ghost hiding behind all the corners and doors. When they finally reached the multipurpose room, Anthony and Amaya finally relaxed. The room's traditional and nearly undamaged appearance seemed to put the couple at ease.

When Sumiko returned to the bookcase, she discovered a gap where a book had originally been. She did not know the title of the book, but its disappearance was both helpful as it was frustrating. At least she did not have to search each book for the song. But now she had to find it. Uncharacteristically, an aura did not appear over the gap where the songbook once was.

Sumiko figured that the book had to be somewhere in this room. Thankfully, as luck would have it, Sumiko now had help, living help this time. The trio began to look under the musty smelling futons to see if the book was under them.

"Looking for something?" A familiar, taunting voice called out.

The trio flinched when they heard the voice. Sumiko recognized the voice as belonging to the ghost boy Kazuo. She looked around but could not see him.

"I think it came from out here." Amaya said as she went towards the shoji.

She pushed the doors open to reveal an overgrown garden. Kazuo was not there. Instead of the ghost boy, there was tall grass, stone footpaths, weedy flower bushes, and a solitary cherry tree near the garden wall. Amaya stepped out onto the engawa (porch) to search for the owner of the voice. As soon as she was outside, Amaya felt a set of small hands roughly shove her forward.

"Ah!" Amaya yelped as she tumbled forward. Thankfully she was not near the large stepping stone but it did not make the fall less painful. Instead she landed on the grass, bruising and scraping both the palms of her hands and her knees.

"Amaya are you okay!?" Anthony shouted. A child's disembodied laughter soon echoed throughout the garden.

"Hahahaha! Stupid girl! Serves you right for being a traitor!"

"WHat?!" Amaya cried out in disbelief.

Kazuo then materialized before a prostrate Amaya, startling Anthony, who had been making his way towards his girlfriend.

"You're a collaborator." The boy said in a serious tone. "You ingratiated yourself with those filthy Americans rather than staying true to our nation. You are a disgrace to the Japanese Empire!"

Amaya stared indignantly at Kazuo as her rambled on. Kazuo then looked up Anthony and a frighteningly dark expression came over the eight year old boy's face. He pointed an accusing finger at the American soldier.

"Your country destroyed mine… Your men killed my brothers… Your bombs slaughtered countless innocents in Hiroshima and Nagasaki… You Americans are nothing but brutes and murderers!"

It was Anthony's turn to look indignant, but he soon became just as angry as Kazuo. Furious at the ghost boy's accusations of war crimes that Anthony was not even alive for to commit, the proud soldier fought back.

"Oh yeah? Well your country attacked Pearl Harbor. Those men were innocent themselves! And what about the Rape of Nanjing? Imperial soldiers raped and murdered countless women and children! They had contests to see who could behead the most Chinese civilians in one day, they cut unborn babies out of their mother's wombs with bayonets, and they even threw little kids into the air and speared them on bayonets as they fell! And the worst part of it is that those soldiers did all of that for that fun!"

Sumiko watched the ghost's expression change from dark to outrage to fury in a short amount of time. Kazuo balled his pale hands into fists and the summer air chilled down even further as his paranormal rage was building. Before she could try and plead Anthony to stop, Kazuo exploded.

"LIES! SLANDER! IT NEVER HAPPENED!"

Wind suddenly picked up and the leaves of the cherry tree and bushes began to rustle violently; even the sliding doors began to tremble. Anthony turned pale and he took a step back onto the tatami. Without warning, the shoji doors all slammed shut. One of the futons rose up suddenly on its own accord and it flew into Anthony.

"What the hell!?" he cried as the bedding and mattress enveloped him in a soft cocoon. Anthony fell over inside the futon and Sumiko could hear her friend's muffled cries coming from underneath the layers. Kazuo then materialized in the room. He glared at the futon cocoon as Anthony struggled inside of it. When he turned his gaze towards Sumiko, she noticed how dark his eyes were, how they lacked the cruel mischief that had been seen earlier that night.

Now he looked absolutely frightening with his black stare and the dark fury that boiled in them. He then disappeared. Sumiko took out her Camera Obscura and she waited for Kazuo to appear again. As the battle began, textbook paranormal phenomena began to manifest in the now closed off room. The film projector turned on and scenes from a movie were shown at a blurring speed on the canvas, doors rattled in their frames, and small objects tumbled and flew about the room.

"My brothers were honorable men…" Kazuo's voice echoed throughout the room. His tone was despondent yet menacing at the same time. "They would have never done such things as that stupid American claimed. What happened in Nanjing was nothing more than lies concocted by the pathetic Chinese army and their wretched Western allies to vilify us!"

A cold presence walked past Sumiko and she quickly spun around only to come face to face with shoji doors. She felt Kazuo's presence again behind her but once again found nothing when she turned around. Although fearful, Sumiko felt a strange sense of obligation to speak up like Anthony did.

"But it did happen…" she murmured. "And it was so evil and wrong…"

"LIAR!" Kazuo screamed loud enough that it felt like the room itself was shouting.

Sumiko saw Kazuo appear in front of her. He charged towards her angrily, giving her a Shutter Chance. Sumiko took her chance and pushed Kazuo back. He let out a pained cry and disappeared before Sumiko could strike him again. The tension in the room grew even thicker and Sumiko heard Kazuo's voice ringing out throughout the room again.

"Lies! Lies! Lies!"

A wooden tray lifted up from the floor and barreled towards Sumiko. She ducked at the right time and the tray hit the wall hard enough to leave a dent in it. As she was straightening her posture, Kazuo suddenly reappeared in front of her and he grabbed Sumiko's throat with both his hands. The boy's hands were strong for an eight year old, and they were so cold. The attack startled Sumiko at first, but she was able to shake Kazuo off.

Unfortunately, she was unable to land a hit on Kazuo since he disappeared as soon as Sumiko shook him off. Frustrated, Sumiko decided to provoke the angry ghost further just like Anthony had unintentionally done.

"Of course your brothers wouldn't tell you everything that they did on the Asian mainland." Sumiko began, terrified but bold enough to try her plan. "They were encouraged to brutalize and dehumanize the enemy to enforce the Imperial Army's "superiority" over the "lesser Asian nations".

The translucent shape of a boy appeared before Sumiko. She decided to goad Kazuo further until he had fully materialized and was coming after her.

"But no matter how patriotic they were, I am sure that your brothers were ashamed of what did to those poor people. There was nothing patriotic about what our soldiers did to the people they conquered!"

The translucent Kazuo materialized completely and he was furious. Just as predicted, Kazuo came gunning for Sumiko. The long awaited Shutter Chance appeared and Sumiko took it. Kazuo was pushed back hard before a Double Chance came up, which Sumiko took as well. This was the coup d'grace, and Kazuo let out a loud cry of pain and frustration.

Kazuo fell to his knees and held his face in his hands. He faded away, but his words echoed out one last time.

"Lies… It is all lies… My brothers were good men… Honorable…"

As soon as his words faded into thin air, the chaos in the room ended. The film projector turned off, the rapid hum of a film reel spinning was heard; the floating objects all fell back onto the floor, and Anthony's futon prison loosened around him. As Anthony kicked the blankets off of him, Amaya finally got the doors open.

"Holy shit that was intense!" Anthony blurted out when he was finally free.

"That kid was a psycho!" Amaya screeched.

Sumiko agreed with her friends exclamations, but she was more happy about the book that was laying on the floor where Kazuo had stood. Picking up the book caused adrenaline to surge through Sumiko. All she had to do now was to recite the song to the seal in front of that door upstairs and break the curse. Purple Kimono's wish was soon to come true. Excited, Sumiko gathered her friends and all three of them headed out.

…

Sumiko stood in front of the parlor door with the book open in her hands. Amaya and Anthony stood off to the said holding each other. Looking at the door, Sumiko saw the seal appear. Undaunted by its intimidating appearance, Sumiko began to intone _Hotaru, Hotaru_ , the kotodama that could affect the seal.

 _"Firefly, firefly_

 _Lantern of the night_

 _Your light shines so bright_

 _Glorious as cherry blossoms_

 _Short-lived as they"_

The hiragana characters on the seal glowed with an intense light as the words were being spoken. Banging noises thundered throughout the orphanage, causing Anthony and Amaya to cling each other more tightly.

 _"Firefly, firefly_

 _Living starlight_

 _Light up the darkened sky_

 _Glorious as cherry blossoms_

 _Short-lived as they"_

The banging got louder, as if oni were striking the building with their large clubs. Dust and soot fell from the ceiling and disembodied footsteps seemed to be walking everywhere, causing an eerie orchestra of creaking floorboards to resonate throughout the orphanage. The temperature dropped to below freezing and the trio's breath came out as clouds.

"Oh my God…" Amaya whimpered.

"Jesus…" Anthony murmured softly as the terrifying phenomenon was occurring all around them. Sumiko continued with the song.

 _"Firefly, firefly_

 _A brilliant light to most_

 _A beacon to the ghosts_

 _Glorious as cherry blossoms_

 _Short-lived as they"_

The lines and characters on the seal were now neon bright and the seal itself seemed to be groaning in resistance to the words. Something down the hall caught Anthony's eye and when he looked over Sumiko's head, he became as white as snow. Glaring at Sumiko was the Dark Priestess. Smoke billowed around her as she began to approach Sumiko.

"Sumiko…" Anthony whispered fearfully.

Sumiko looked from the corner of her eye and she saw the Dark Priestess coming towards her. She stuttered and could not continue the song. Just then Purple Kimono appeared by Sumiko's side. The little girl gently touched Sumiko's arm..

"It's okay. You have only four more lines. Keep going!" Purple Kimono encouraged.

Trembling, Sumiko struggled to regain her voice. She could smell wood smoke and feel the animosity coming from the furious ghost as she got closer.

 _"Firefly, Firefly…"_

Sumiko faltered as her fear built up. She forced herself to continue.

 _"Firefly, firefly,"_ She repeated. _"Brighten the shadows along the way_

 _So our loved ones are not lost in the fray_

 _Glorious as cherry blossoms_

 _Short-lived as they."_

Uttering the final lines was like a key being turned in a lock. The light from the seal had reached the gamut of its luminescence, and it began to dissolve. The Dark Priestess stopped when she was just three feet away and she gaped at what was happening. Meanwhile, Sumiko was grinning from ear to ear while her two friends went along and smiled, albeit nervously. When the seal disappeared, the parlor doors began to open on their own.

"What have you done…" The Dark Priestess murmured in disbelief.

Sumiko thought that some evil plan of the Priestess was being foiled, and she felt elated that she had a part in stopping her. But her joy was short-lived. As soon as the doors were open, the air became intensely monochrome and the air became heavy and oppressive. Okamoto Orphanage, once resounding with paranormal noises, was now dead silent; Sumiko could hear own heavy breathing. Beyond the doors, Sumiko could see the parlor and sitting at the center of the room on the floor was what appeared to be a mirror that was surrounded by candlesticks.

Even though the looking glass was some distance away, Sumiko could see both her and Purple Kimono's reflections in the glass. Sumiko obviously looked terrified, but then she saw Purple Kimono's reflection. Purple Kimono was no longer a child, but a grown, older woman. Nervously, Sumiko turned to look at Purple Kimono, only to find the ghost was now looking at her. Purple Kimono was now at eye level with Sumiko, and she had long disheveled white hair, wrinkled skin, and a large grin and eyes as white as paper.

"Thank you…" Purple Kimono said, her voice now deep and echoing with the voices of other spirits. Realizing that she had been tricked, Sumiko looked back into the parlor, dismay written all over her face. Sumiko could now see numerous faces in the mirror besides hers and Purple Kimono's. A bright light soon filled the glass, and a writhing "cloud" of shadows began to emanate from the mirror.

Ghostly voices and sounds resounded and the powerful force Sumiko was feeling from the mirror was akin to seeing a tsunami coming towards land; powerless to stop it and too scared to move. Like a dam breaking, the shadows burst from the mirror and flooded out into the orphanage. Sumiko covered her face and shrieked as the ghostly onslaught commenced. Anthony and Amaya held each other and screamed as their nightmare only got worse. All Sumiko could hear as darkness overwhelmed her was the insane laughter of Purple Kimono and more of her "gratitude."

"Thank you… for freeing us Sumiko..."

* * *

 **Poor Sumiko, she just can't catch a break at Okamoto Orphanage, and now Anthony and Amaya have been dragged into the haunt as well. As you can probably guess from the ending, the Dark Priestess was guarding that seal and the evil that was contained within, and Purple Kimono was the true villain all along. I know it seems sudden, but I did mention some time ago that this story was going to be shorter than _Vengeance._ But don't worry, the story is far from over. There will be plenty more to see ;) **

**Anyway, thanks for reading and _Please Reivew! :)_**


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